


The Smuggler

by aconite (aconite_fic)



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bakery and Coffee Shop, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Other: See Story Notes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-31
Updated: 2016-08-31
Packaged: 2018-08-12 02:18:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 28,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7916572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aconite_fic/pseuds/aconite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Smuggler is an LGBT friendly cafe held by Tristan and Isolde. Situated just beneath Elena and Mordred's flat, it is their favourite dwelling. After its reopening it becomes the place of fateful reunions and quickly blossoming friendships as new people join their little group and find their place in each other's lives.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Smuggler

**Author's Note:**

> A huge thank you to the mods for another wonderful year of ACBB! Thank you, dylan_mx for working with me (and making me giggle and gush over your lovely, lovely art)!! Pre-matching seemed a bit scary, but you were absolutely amazing to work with. Thank you, bjomolf, for still being the World's Greatest Beta™. 
> 
> Notes and Warnings: Elyan is deaf, but he's a minor character, so I wasn't sure whether I should mention that in the tags. Mordred is agender. There's one case of misgendering in the beginning of the fic (it's later mentioned again), mentions of homophobia and transphobia. Depression is discussed and one of the characters is implied to have suicidal thoughts. A canon minor character's death is mentioned. 
> 
> That all sounds a bit rough, promise there's a happy ending for everyone :'D (except for the character that died canonically rip)
> 
> **LINK TO THE ARTWORK:<http://dylan-mx.livejournal.com/40442.html>**

Elena took Mordred’s arm on their way out of the cinema. She looked over her shoulder to make sure their friends weren’t too far behind before she asked, “Did you like it?”

Mordred made a face and slurped his soda. “It wasn’t bad,” he said, chewing on his straw.

“The books are better?”

“Aren’t they always?” Merlin laughed as he walked up to them.

Mordred nodded. “I actually liked some aspects of the film better than the books. But overall…”

He was cut off by the group walking in front of them. Elena hadn’t been able to make out what they were talking about until then, but she laughed when someone exclaimed, “Jason was fucking useless!”

“You’re fucking useless,” Mordred replied. Elena wanted to laugh again. but then the stranger stopped in his tracks and turned around to face them.

He looked from Merlin to her to Mordred and—very politely—said, “Excuse me?”

Mordred looked up at the stranger—he was quite taller than the three of them—and said, “Sorry for being rude. I just think you have no idea what you’re talking about.”

The stranger scoffed and opened his mouth, ready to argue, but then a man with shaggy hair came up to him and tapped his arm. “Hey, Perce, we’re ready to go,” he said, motioning towards the rest of their group, who were lingering a few steps ahead. _Perce_ looked from them to Mordred, hesitating. The other man shrugged and gestured to Mordred. “You could come with us!” he offered, then looked at _Perce_. “Or you can say with her if you want. I—”

“Him,” Mordred interrupted. “I’m a he,” he explained when the man just looked at him in confusion.

There was silence for a moment. Elena saw Arthur stand to the left of Mordred, crossing his arms and staring down the men in front of them. There was no doubt in Elena’s mind that Arthur—and all of their friends—wouldn’t hesitate to stand up for Mordred if the strangers were to argue.

“Oh,” the second man said in the end. “Oh,” he repeated, more understanding, and pointed at Perce. “Like—”

He was cut off again, this time by Perce groaning. "Gwaine..."

“I’m sorry,” Gwaine said. He looked appropriately embarrassed for misgendering Mordred. “I really am! I just—I’m gonna go.”

“You do that,” Arthur said. Mordred just shook his head.

Perce watched him go, then turned to Mordred, rubbing his neck. “I don’t suppose you still wanna talk? I’m Percival, by the way,” he blurted out and offered his hand, tentative.

Elena hadn’t realised how strong her grip on Mordred’s arm had been until he wiggled so she’d let him go. “I’m Mordred,” he responded. “And I do want to talk.” He nodded towards Elena and the rest of their friends. “We’re going to get something to eat, but none of them have really read the books—”  
  
“I have,” Merlin said.  
  
Mordred turned to him. “Yeah, but you don’t care half as much as I do.”  
  
“...True,” Merlin agreed.  
  
Mordred smiled at the stranger and raised his arms as if to say, _see what I have to deal with?_ “Would you like to join us?”  
  
“Well... Where are you going?”  
  
“There’s this restaurant, Theo’s—”  
  
“Oh,” Percival interrupted. “No.” When Mordred frowned in confusion, he said, “I’m more of a fast food kind of guy. There’s a place right around the corner?”

Mordred nodded, then turned to Elena. “You guys would probably enjoy dinner better without me going on and on about the film?” He smiled.

Elena wasn’t so convinced. “Can I just talk to you for a second?” she asked. She led him a few steps back and everyone circled around Mordred. “Are you really gonna go with him?” Elena whispered.  
  
Mordred frowned. “Yeah, why?”  
  
“You don’t know him, Mordred,” Gwen said, and Merlin nodded. “And look at him—he could fit you in his pocket!”

“Oh, for the love of... Look.” Mordred held up his phone. He found Elena’s number, then dialed and hung up before it could ring. “Now you’re at the top of my list and it’ll take me three seconds to call you. Happy?”  
  
Elena let out a noncommittal noise. Mordred rolled his eyes, but before he could reply, Merlin said, “I'm coming with you. And I’ll text Arthur every ten minutes.”

Mordred frowned. “You really wanna come with me?”

“Yeah, why?”

Mordred didn’t reply, gaze going over all of them. “But then Elena is left to walk home alone.”

They were silent for a moment, then Gwen spoke. “We’ll take a cab to Merlin and Arthur’s and we’ll drop off Elena so you can walk home together. Does that sound alright?”

Mordred nodded. “Alright,” Elena said and hugged him.  
  
When Gwen kissed Mordred’s cheek, Arthur came closer and quietly asked, “Do you think it’ll intimidate him if I also kiss you?”  
  
Mordred laughed. “Shut up,” he said, but then stood on his toes to kiss Arthur’s cheek and gave him a tight hug.

“See you later,” Merlin said and waved as they joined Percival.

xxx

The first text came in when they were settling down at their table. Arthur snorted with laughter as he looked at the screen. “ _His opinions are wrong as his biceps are big_ ,” he read out loud.  
  
“Those were some big biceps,” Elena said. “But why is Merlin looking at them?”  
  
“That’s what I’m asking now,” Arthur said. “ _Shut up. I’m just interpreting the looks Mordred is giving me_.”  
  
Gwen laughed.

“Mordred ordered for himself so that he could be the only one besides the workers to touch his food,” Arthur said. Elena looked at him and he smiled. “That’s good.”  
  
“Yeah,” she said weakly. She knew that Mordred wasn’t a child; he didn’t _need_ him to look over him constantly, but she couldn’t help it.  
  
“We raised him well, Elena,” Arthur said, as if reading her thoughts. “He’ll be fine.”  
  
Elena nodded, then sat back and smiled at the waiter who had come to leave menus for them.

xxx

Elena pushed the heavy door and walked into the diner. She paused near the entrance when she noticed her friends.  
  
Mordred was sitting between Merlin and Percival and waving his hands as he spoke. Percival looked equal parts interested and skeptical, until he just tilted his head up and stared at the ceiling. After he dragged his hands down his face in exasperation, he looked back at Mordred and held up a finger as if to tell him to wait. He said something that made Merlin reach into his bag. He came up with a notebook and a pen, opened to a random page and lent them to Percival, who started jotting down something while Mordred kept nodding and pointing at it every now and then.

As Elena headed towards them, Mordred took the pen out of the guy’s hand and started making his additions in the notebook. Elena grinned at the way he pointed the pen at Percival afterwards, as if to scold him for something. Percival just reclaimed the pen and held it up horizontally, then pointed at different parts of it as he kept speaking.

“Hey,” Elena said when she was close enough to them. Mordred gave her a bright smile.

Merlin didn’t even notice her, too busy staring at the notebook. “It's cool that you can do that in, like, a minute,” he said.

“What is it?” Elena asked and stood next to him, peering down at the page that was filled with some kind of diagram.

“Oh, hi,” Merlin said, looking up at her. “It’s the entire timeline,” he continued.

“Aren’t there like ten books in the series?” Elena asked.

“Eight, if you count the short stories,” Percival replied with a little smile.  
  
“Which you did,” Merlin said.

“Wow,” Elena said. “That really is cool. I’m Elena, by the way.”

“Percival,” he replied, even though it wasn’t necessary at that point.

Elena turned to Merlin again. “Did you have fun?”

“Oh, yeah,” he grinned and looked at Mordred and Percival. “In not that into the series, but listening to them tear it apart actually got me invested.”

Mordred rolled his eyes. “If only you were as interested in talking to me as you are in _watching_ me talk.”  
  
“Oi,” Merlin said. “You can’t blame me. There’s no arguing with you!”  
  
“Apparently, there is,” Mordred said and waved a hand from the notebook to Percival. “Am I impossible to argue with?”  
  
“You’re impossible to _agree_ with,” Percival retorted. “To be honest, I’m a bit tired. It’s been a while since I’ve spoken for so long.”  
  
“I’ll let your voice rest, then.” Mordred patted his arm with a smile. He looked up at Elena. “Wanna go home?”  
  
“Yes, please,” she said.

Mordred grabbed his notebook and Percival picked up their trays to clear the table.  
  
When they all stepped out Mordred turned to Percival again. “It was nice meeting you. And proving you wrong about a hundred times.”  
  
Percival rolled his eyes and grinned. “You tried, I’ll give you that.” He nodded at the three of them. “Good night.”  
  
“Night.”

Both Merlin and Elena linked their arms through Mordred’s as they turned to walk the other way. It was late enough to allow them to hog all the walking space.  
  
Mordred turned to Merlin. “You’re staying with us tonight, right?”  
  
“Yeah,” Merlin said. “If you don’t mind.”  
  
“Of course not. You can have my bed if you want.”  
  
“No, don’t worry. Your sofa’s comfy enough.”  
  
Mordred nodded. “If you’re sure.”  
  
They were silent for a moment, and then Elena said, “So… Percival.”  
  
“Yeah?” Mordred smiled.  
  
“What do we make of him?”  
  
Mordred shrugged. “He’s alright. He’s a bit shy, I guess. He was kind of quiet when weren’t talking about fandom stuff. But he seems really nice.”

Elena glanced at Merlin and he nodded in confirmation. “That’s good,” she said. She tried to stifle her protective instincts at least for a moment, but she didn’t think she’d fully trust Percival anytime soon. A lot of people they’d met in the past had turned out to be quite nasty, despite the initial impression they’d made.

Mordred took a deep breath before he spoke again. “I’m not sure I should tell you this, so not a word to anyone,” he warned and waited for her to promise. “You know that blogger I really like?”  
  
“Which one?” Merlin asked.  
  
“The fashion designer. She and her partner make those chest binders I really like?”  
  
“Oh, yeah!”  
  
“Well… she’s his sister.”  
  
“Really?” Elena asked.  
  
“Really.” Mordred nodded. “I wanted to show him something on my phone and her picture came up on my feed.” He huffed a laughter. “We didn’t talk much about it, but, you know… He has at least some understanding of…” He pointed at himself.  
  
“I see,” Elena said. She remembered Gwaine and how he’d reacted to finding out he’d misgendered Mordred. Maybe he’d wanted to mention Percival’s sister back then? “He’s not as gross as he could have been.”  
  
Mordred laughed. “He’s really not,” he said. “But he does have a lot of ridiculous opinions when it comes to other things.”  
  
“You think you’re gonna talk to him again soon?” Elena asked.  
  
“Um.” Mordred glanced at Elena before he admitted, “I think he’s texting me right now.”  
  
“What?” Elena snapped, stopping and squeezing his arm.  
  
“ _Ow_! You really need to calm down,” Mordred said and reached inside his pocket to get his phone.

He unlocked it and slid a thumb over the screen to get to his messages. He chuckled, then showed it to Elena.  
  
_i think i just came up with witty retorts to about 27 of your points_  
  
_BUT the most important one is that if Jason had spent as much time looking after HIS OWN ASS as he did ogling others' he'd STILL BE ALIVE_  
  
_although that's more of an observation. i don't even know whether this is a valid response to anything you said. what did we even talk about for two hours_  
  
_all i know is that he had no place in that fucking movie and no amount of graphics and essays can convince me otherwise_  
  
“And that’s basically all we talked about,” Mordred said when she gave him back his phone.  
  
Elena sighed and shook her head, even though she was smiling. “Just be careful. And don’t answer him until we get home. I want to actually talk to you now, not have you grunt and tell me how wrong he is the whole way.”  
  
Mordred sighed. “Yes, Mother.”

xxx

  
The next morning had Elena stumbling in the living room way too early for a Saturday.  
  
“What are we doing for breakfast?” she asked, voice groggy.  
  
Merlin gave her a sympatethic smile as he folded his blanket and set it on one side of the sofa.  
  
Mordred came in from the kitchen, not only fully dressed, but impossibly chipper. “Well, we haven’t gone grocery shopping in centuries, so we’re gonna have to go out. Something’s gotta be open, right?” Elena groaned at the idea. Mordred laughed and walked to her, rubbing her arms in an attempt to comfort her. “Come on, I’ll get you coffee. It ought to wake you right up.”  
  
“Since when are you a morning person?” Elena mumbled.  
  
“Since I didn’t get any sleep and somehow don’t feel tired yet,” he replied with a bright smile.  
  
Elena frowned. “You okay?”  
  
“Yep!”  
  
Elena gave him a long look.  
  
“You talked to Percy all night, didn’t you?” Merlin asked.  
  
Mordred fluttered his eyelashes. “Maybe?”  
  
Elena rolled her eyes. “Don’t you dare whine to me when you get sleepy later.”  
  
“I won’t, I won’t,” Mordred said and pushed her towards the door. “Go and get ready.” Elena obeyed.  
  
She was almost done when there was a banging on the bathroom door.  
  
“What?” Elena shouted, toothbrush still in her mouth.  
  
“The Smuggler is open!” Mordred said with excitement from the other side.  
  
“Oh my god, I completely forgot!” Elena tried to shout back.  
  
“I know!” Mordred laughed. “I’ll call everyone and see who we can meet up with for a morning coffee, alright?”  
  
“Uh-huh,” Elena replied and spat toothpaste out. “Hey, Mordred?”  
  
“Yeah?”  
  
“Why don’t you call Percy to join us, if he hasn’t slept either?” she teased.  
  
There was a prolonged silence until Mordred replied, “I did.” Elena stared at the door. “He’s gonna be there,” Mordred added and Elena heard him walk away.  
  
She shook her head and washed up.

xxx

Elena was the first to walk into The Smuggler, and what she saw took her breath away.  
  
What used to be a tiny—but charming—café was now a spacious establishment worthy of all the work the owners put into it. Tristan and Isolde had first opened The Smuggler years ago, and word had quickly spread and brought to the café one of the most diverse groups of patrons Elena had ever seen. It had warmed her heart to see all the younger people that gathered here every day; it was a well-known fact that there weren’t nearly enough LGBT-friendly spaces that catered to kids as well as adults. When the little fashion boutique next door had closed, it’d seemed like the perfect opportunity to let The Smuggler grow. Mordred had single-handedly gotten the fundraising campaign off the ground as soon as Isolde had mentioned they wanted to buy the space. A few months and hundreds of donations and later, it was time for the re-opening.

“Are you going to cry?” Merlin asked.  
  
Elena turned around to see Mordred covering his mouth as he looked around.  
  
“No,” he mumbled.  
  
Merlin chuckled. “It looks amazing.”  
  
"Why, thank you," Isolde said by way of greeting. Elena turned around and saw her walk around the counter to get to them.  
  
"It really does," Elena said. "You guys did a wonderful job."  
  
"Couldn’t have done it alone." Isolde smiled. "You, especially"—she pointed a finger at Mordred—"were the reason we were able to do this in the first place."  
  
Mordred shrugged. "I just got the word out," he said and gave Isolde a hug. "We have all the people who backed this to thank, and you for making sure all the money goes to the right places."  
  
Isolde smiled and ruffled his hair. "Want a tour?" she asked them.  
  
"Of course," Merlin replied, and they all followed her to the new part of the café.  
  
"I don't wanna choose for you, but I kinda saw this as your spot?" Isolde said and led them to the corner right of the entrance. "It's nearly identical to your old booth; it's a little bit more open, but it's still more isolated from the other tables, so you'll have your privacy."  
  
"It's brilliant," Mordred assured her and set his purse in one corner of the sofa, marking the spot as his. Elena followed suit and chose a chair opposite him that let her look at the streets through the large windows behind the sofa.  
  
"Now, this is something I'm really excited about," Isolde continued and made her way between the tables to a couple of bookshelves. When she got to them, Elena was able to read the sign above them: _by and for LGBT youth_. "We had a couple of authors reach out to us and donate copies of their books." She grabbed a couple of books and gave each of them one to check out. Elena found herself holding a young adult fantasy novel. She opened it when she saw a bookmark poking out. It was a little slip with the picture if a young woman on it, and some information underneath. "That's the author," Isolde pointed out. "Our library isn't big enough to let us give away copies yet, but people can read them while they're here, and hopefully those who can afford it will consider supporting the writers."  
  
"This is awesome," Mordred said, leafing through his book. "I'll definitely check them out."  
  
"We really want to invite some of those writers, and musicians and educators, once business picks up again. We're open to suggestions for whom and what people would like to see, and we'll do our best to meet their hopes."  
  
"Sounds amazing," Merlin said.  
  
Elena nodded. "We'll do what we can to help when the time comes."  
  
Isolde gave her a grateful smile. She looked around. "The café as a whole isn’t that exciting yet. We wanted to leave a lot of it to the people, so they could make it their own. I was tempted to leave the walls bare so everyone could draw, but Tristan stopped me from doing that." She laughed. "But there’s still the board for recommendations and favourite quotes here, and the one for random or positive messages on the opposite wall. I don't know. I wanted people to have their say."  
  
"It's really cute," Mordred said. "I'm sad that there aren't entire walls waiting for my stick figure drawings, though."  
  
"I'll make sure Tristan apologises to you personally," Isolde said.  
  
There was a chime from the entrance as a couple of girls walked in. Isolde grinned. "It's time! Do you guys wanna order now?"  
  
"Sure," Mordred said. "I'll get the coffees, you two settle down." He followed Isolde to the counter.  
  
He came back with cups for them, as well as a couple of little colourful flags on toothpicks. He gave the rainbow one to Elena. “They’re on the counter, you can get one whenever you want,” he explained. “Isn’t it neat?”  
  
“Very cute,” Elena said and put hers in her breast pocket.

Merlin smiled and held on to his. “I think that’s Arthur and Gwen,” he said and got up. “That’s my cue to go home and make use of an empty flat.”

“But it’s Saturday,” Elena protested. “You can have a break, surely.”  
  
“Last night was my break.” He smiled in apology and leaned in to kiss her temple. “I only have like… less than a year until I graduate. The internship afterwards won’t take as much of my time. We’ll see each other every day.”  
  
“Do I have your word?” she asked.  
  
Merlin gave her a serious nod before he grinned. “Bye, love.” He gave Mordred a hug, exchanged a few words with Gwen and Arthur as they walked in, then left.  
  
“Boy can’t catch a break.” Gwen shook her head. Elena stood up to kiss her cheek. “The place looks great, doesn’t it?”  
  
“It really does.”  
  
“Oh, where’d you get that? Oh, sorry, touched your boob,” Gwen said, straightening the little flag in Elena’s pocket.  
  
Elena laughed. “Don’t worry about it. Mordred said you’ll see them when you order.”  
  
“Awesome,” Gwen said. She got her wallet out and handed Elena her purse. “Could you…?”  
  
“Sure.”  
  
“Arthur, do you want something?”  
  
“I’ll come with you, I wanna say hi to Isolde,” he replied. “Hey, Elle.”  
  
“Hi,” Elena greeted. She looked at Mordred, who was hovering a couple of steps away from the table. “Something wrong?”  
  
“I wanna go to the restroom, but I think someone just went in,” he explained. The café was already filling up.  
  
“I think you can go, anyway. There’s supposed to be two stalls inside.”  
  
“Oh? That’s—”  
  
The bell above the door chimed and Elena heard Mordred gasp when he saw who came in. He seemed vaguely familiar, and he was followed by…  
  
“You won’t believe—” Percival started, but got cut off by the other man sweeping Mordred into a hug and twirling him. Mordred tried to apologise, but he was grinning ear to ear as he clung on to the man. Percival shook his head and stepped away to give them space.

The man frowned at Percival and let Mordred go. “Am I interrupting?”  
  
Mordred made a face and cupped the man’s cheeks. He let out a noise, struggling to find the right words to say until he went for, “You cut your hair!”  
  
“Oh,” Elena said quietly, finally putting a name to the face. It was…  
  
“Lancelot?” Percival asked quietly.  
  
Lancelot turned to him and measured him until he realised who stood in front of him. “Percy?”  
  
“Holy shit,” Percival whispered and a grin spread on his face. “Lancelot!”  
  
Lancelot laughed and pulled him in for a hug. “It’s been so long, what the hell? Look at you! How do you two know each other?” he asked and pointed a thumb at Mordred, his arm still around Percival’s shoulders.  
  
“We literally met last night,” Mordred explained. “How do you know him?”  
  
“We grew up together!” Lancelot was beaming. Elena couldn’t help but smile at the scene that was unfolding in front of her. “He’s the one who gave me that book, remember?”  
  
Mordred raised his eyebrows at Percival. “Oh, my god. You’re Sir Kay?”  
  
Percival hid his face in his palm. “You still have that?”  
  
“Of course I do, you nerd!” Lancelot exclaimed. “I’ve been looking for you for ages!”  
  
“Did you just… Did you really call me a nerd?”  
  
“Well, are you still a nerd?”  
  
Percival bit his lip and looked at Mordred with a little smile. “Well, I did come with some nerdy news today.”

“Hm?” Mordred inquired.  
  
“They’re making a _Fortunes_ game.”  
  
Mordred’s jaw dropped. “What? How did you—no, wait. I need to go pee now, but you two have a seat and we’ll talk about _everything_ , okay?”  
  
“Sure,” Percival said, and Lancelot smiled. Mordred took a breath, rose on his toes to kiss Lancelot’s cheek, and headed for the rest room.  
  
“He’s so cute,” Lancelot said in a tone one would use for speaking about babies or very small animals. Elena giggled. That caught his attention and he turned to her. She waved at him.  
  
“Hi!” Lancelot greeted. His arms slipped from Percival’s shoulders and he gestured towards the sofa. Again, Elena made a noise that caught their attention.  
  
“I’m sorry. That’s Mordred’s spot,” she explained, pointing at Mordred’s purse. She set Gwen’s bag on the chair next to hers and sat down.  
  
Percival made to move, but Lancelot put a hand on his shoulder. “He’ll find another,” he said and moved Mordred’s purse to the chair at the head of the table. Percival looked a bit worried, but he sat on the sofa.

Lancelot sat next to Percival and introduced himself to Elena, then Gwen and Arthur when they came over.

“I’ve heard a lot about all of you, of course,” he was saying as Isolde came over.  
  
“I almost didn’t recognise you!” she said, and Lancelot rose to his feet so he could give her a hug over the table. “And who’s your new friend?”  
  
“Old friend,” Lancelot corrected her.  
  
She raised an eyebrow. “Sir Kay?”  
  
Percival groaned. “How many people have you told?”  
  
“It’s just her and Mordred, I swear!”  
  
“And Mordred told me,” Elena said.  
  
“And me,” Arthur chimed in.  
  
“And Arthur told me,” Gwen said.  
  
“Obviously we need to blame Mordred, if anyone,” Elena said.  
  
“What about Mordred?” Mordred asked, standing next to Isolde.  
  
“The consensus seems to be that you talk a bit too much, my little friend,” Isolde said, ruffling his hair.  
  
Mordred looked around, confused.

“Doesn’t matter,” Lancelot said and waved a hand again. “We’ll talk about it later.”  
  
Isolde shrugged. “What can I get you?”  
  
“Oh, you don’t have to,” Lancelot said, looking at the line forming up at the till.  
  
“It’s fine,” she assured him. “We have someone new to help us out.”  
  
Lancelot and Percival exchanged a look. “Just a water, then,” they said at the same time. They looked at each again other with identical grins on their faces.

Mordred rolled his eyes. “Wanna get up so I can sit next to my new friend?” he asked Lancelot.  
  
“I can move,” Percival suggested, but both Mordred and Lancelot placed a hand over his shoulders.  
  
“I wanna sit next to my _old_ friend,” Lancelot said, voice calm. Percival’s eyes moved from him to Mordred as they stared each other down. “That seat is perfect for you,” he gestured at Mordred’s purse.

“I guess,” Mordred said after a moment’s hesitation. He sat down and dragged the chair as close to the sofa as he could. “Where are you staying?” he asked Lancelot.  
  
“At Leon’s, for now,” Lancelot replied. “Need to find a place for myself, though, and quick. He didn’t say much, but I think he’s got a girlfriend now. I don’t wanna intrude for much longer.”  
  
“I’m sort of looking for a place, too,” Percival said. “It’s gonna be a lot easier finding an affordable flat for two, rather than one.”  
  
“Um.” Gwen gave them a hopeful smile when she caught their attention. “Would you by any chance want another roommate?” Lancelot nodded for her to go on. “My brother’s coming back to town soon.”

Mordred perked up. “He is?”

“Yeah. He’s got friends vacating a flat right now. He’ll be looking for a job for a while, but he’s got enough money saved up for the first few months—or at least he says so. Even if he doesn’t, I’ll do what I can to help him with the rent.”  
  
Lancelot and Percival exchanged a look. The latter shrugged. Lancelot smiled as he turned back to Gwen. “The more, the merrier, I say.”  
  
“Excellent.” Gwen grinned, but there was nervousness in her gaze when she turned it to Elena.  
  
“So you guys are okay?” Elena asked, loud enough only for Gwen to hear.

Gwen nodded. “He wrote me recently. He _asked_ me if it’d be alright with me if he came back.” Gwen shook her head. “As if I ever wanted him gone! I know we’re adults, but… Ever since he went away I just… I don’t know.”

“It’s normal to you want your siblings to be around, especially after what you guys went through.” Elena knew Elyan had went away a little after his and Gwen’s dad had passed.

Gwen gave her a grateful smile. “We both had to deal with it in our own ways, I guess.” She looked and Lancelot and Percival. “I don’t know if I should… tell them. It’s been so long! I—”  
  
“It’s gonna be okay,” Elena assured her and put her hand over Gwen’s. “He’s been on his own all this time, hasn’t he?”  
  
“Yeah,” Gwen said.  
  
When she didn’t continue, Elena said, “Tell you what. Mordred and Merlin know a bit of sign language. Maybe you guys can give us all some lessons, the basics at least? Do you think Elyan would appreciate it?”

Gwen tilted her head in thought. “Maybe. But we should make it seem like you didn’t learn it just for him. It might embarrass him.”  
  
“You think so?”  
  
“I don’t know. Maybe. I don’t wanna speak for him, but he never talked about it much, so I don’t know.” Gwen rubbed her forehead in frustration.  
  
“We’ll see how it goes. If he’s uncomfortable, I’m sure he’ll tell us.”  
  
“Sure,” Gwen agreed.  
  
“When is he coming back?”  
  
“Next month.”  
  
“That gives us two weeks, at least. Are there any online lessons we can take?”  
  
“Yeah, actually,” Gwen said. “I’ll send you guys some sources.”  
  
“Excellent.”

“So where have you been all this time?” Lancelot asked. “I went to your grandparents’ house the first time I went back to Essetir, but they wouldn’t speak to me.”

Percival scoffed. “I don’t suppose they would have.” He shrugged. “We had to move out. They didn’t quite agree with the way my parents chose to raise me and my sister.”

“Your sister?” Lancelot raised his eyebrows, but his confusion soon melted into worry. “Is she okay?”

“Yeah, she is,” Percival assured him. He shook his head. “Man, we have _a lot_ of catching up to do.”

“Good thing we’re gonna be living together soon, then,” Lancelot said with a grin. He turned to Gwen. “If your brother is alright with it, of course.”

“I’ll let him know you guys need a place, once he comes back you can meet and look at the flat together?” Gwen offered.

“Sounds great,” Lancelot replied.

“You can move your stuff to mine in the meantime,” Percival said. “If you really feel like you’re bothering your friend.”

Lancelot gave him a long look. “You just doomed yourself to me telling you my life story all night instead of sleeping.”

Percival didn’t seem to mind.

xxx

A couple of weeks later, Percival walked into The Smuggler with Gwaine in tow. Elena tensed when she recognised but to his credit, he didn’t look exactly comfortable when he laid his eyes upon Mordred.

Mordred noticed his nervousness and sighed. “Don’t worry about it,” he said before the man could speak. “As long as you promise to be more considerate in the future, we can forget about it.”  
  
“I promise,” Gwaine said in all seriousness. A moment later, a grin that suited his features much better than distress spread on his face. “I’m Gwaine.”  
  
Mordred, Elena and Lancelot introduced themselves in turn. There was a lull before Percy said to Mordred, “He’s our… source.”  
  
Mordred’s eyes widened. “Really? Can you—”  
  
“I can’t tell you much,” Gwaine interrupted. “But you don’t have to wait long. They’re officially announcing the game next week.”  
  
Mordred clapped his hands together. “Oh my god! But isn’t that too soon?”  
  
“It’s been in the works a lot longer than you assume, my friend.” Gwaine smirked. “The first episode is dropping next month.”  
  
Mordred gasped so loudly a few people from the nearest tables turned to look at him with concern. Elena noticed a woman stared for a bit too long before she murmured something to her companion and made her way to their table.

“Excuse me, Mordred?” she asked. He’d just settled on the sofa’s armrest in order to sit between Percy and Gwaine, who was pulling a chair next to the sofa. He looked up at her with a frown. “It’s Vivian. From Uni?”  
  
“I remember you,” he said, much less kind than he usually regarded acquaintances, or even strangers. After a moment, he asked, “How do you know my… actual name?”  
  
She looked down, seeming a little guilty. “I’ve seen you come up on social media. We have some friends in common. If you’d like me to call you—”  
  
“No, no,” he interrupted. “Like I said, that’s my actual name.”  
  
She nodded. “I just—”  
  
“Viv?” the woman sitting at her table called out. When Vivian turned to her, she pointed at her phone and said, “I have to go.”  
  
“Oh,” Vivian murmured. “Well—”  
  
“Do you wanna join us?” Mordred asked after a moment’s hesitation. Elena raised an eyebrow at him, but he ignored her.  
  
“Really?”  
  
Mordred nodded.

“Alright, let me get my things,” Vivian said. When she got to her table, the other woman gave her a quick kiss and all but ran out.  
  
“Who is she?” Lancelot asked carefully, clearly having noticed Mordred’s discomfort at being around Vivian.  
  
“She’s terrible,” Mordred said, miserable.  
  
“Then why did you ask her to join us?” Elena asked.

Mordred shrugged. “She just got stood up?” he said, unsure. “She looked really happy when I asked her to join,” he added, but it was clear he already regretted the offer.

“I’ll talk to her,” Elena saod. “You can discuss your game or whatever, she won’t bother you.”

Mordred nodded. Elena smiled and got up to help Vivian. She took the tea mug and some papers off Vivian’s hands so she could settle easily.  
  
“Oh, thank you,” Vivian said and sat down in Gwen’s spot. “One would think I’d put everything in my purse before I try to move.”  
  
“I’d advise against putting tea in an open container in your bag, actually,” Elena said. It wasn’t a particularly good joke, but Vivian chuckled, anyway.  
  
“I’ll keep that in mind,” she said. “I’m Vivian.”  
  
“Elena. Was that your girlfriend?” she asked, nodding towards the door.  
  
“Yeah.” Vivian sighed. “She’s even busier than I am these days.”  
  
“Do you guys work together?”

“Yeah, kind of. We work for my father, but keeping the job is way harder than getting it, mind you.”  
  
Elena raised an eyebrow. “Really? Is he hard on you?”  
  
“I mean, it’s not that bad. He knows I need the motivation. It’s just that… When he found out about Sophia, he didn’t take it very well.”  
  
Elena assumed Sophia was the girlfriend. “Oh. I’m really sorry to hear that.”  
  
Vivian shook her head. “It’s fine. I know that _he_ wouldn’t give up on me just because…”  
  
Elena wasn’t sure what she was implying, and she didn’t want to ask. Vivian studied her hands in silence for a moment, then her gaze wandered up to the others. Elena was relieved to see a little smile tugging on her lips.  
  
Elena leaned in and spoke quietly, glad she had something to break the silence with. “That’s Lancelot. Mordred’s friend. He used to travel a lot. He was gone for almost an entire year, came back to Camelot last month, possibly for good.” Vivian nodded, encouraging her to continue. “Next to him is Percy. I don’t know him too well. He’s sort of quiet, but he’s only been nice to me and everyone I’ve seen him interact with. Mordred and he have been inseparable for a few weeks now, and Mordred’s got only nice things to say about him.” She hesitated. “I didn’t know Mordred when he was in Uni. You can probably tell me how much he’s changed, instead of the other way around.”

Vivian turned to her. “I didn’t know him that well in the first place. I don’t think I was… Too nice to him. Or anyone else, to be honest.”  
  
“Oh?”  
  
Elena noticed Mordred half-turn towards them, pretending he wasn’t eavesdropping.  
  
“Yeah.” Vivian sighed. “I wasn’t really used to that environment. I was homeschooled up until Uni, and I did have some friends, but they were all… Rich.” She let out an awkward laugh. “I don’t think I had any idea how to interact with humans in general.”  
  
“Hey, Viv,” Mordred said. “Can I call you Viv?”  
  
“Sure,” she replied with a smile.  
  
“Do you remember that history professor?”  
  
“The one with the eyes or the one with the nails?”  
  
“Oh, my god.” Mordred’s eyes widened in horror. “I forgot about the nails.”  
  
Vivian laughed. “She actually lives near my flat. I see her quite often. They’re as sharp as ever.”  
  
“Your flat?” Mordred inquired. “You don’t live with your dad anymore?” He probably missed the part about her father in their conversation.  
  
“No,” Vivian said. “You used to live in the dorms, didn’t you? Do you live nearby?”

“Upstairs, actually. Elena’s my roommate.”  
  
Vivian smiled at them. “That sounds wonderful.”  
  
“ _Hello!_ ” Gwen announced her and Arthur’s arrival in a sing-song voice. She headed straight for Elena before she saw who was sitting next to her. “Oh.” She stopped in her tracks, then managed a polite smile. “Hello, Vivian.”

“Hey!” Vivian greeted and got to her feet. “I didn’t realize you guys are friends.” She hesitated. “I was about to say this to Mordred, but I think I owe it to you, as well. I know I used to be all sorts of awful, and I know not much time separates then and now, but I promise I’ve changed. I’ll make it up to all of you, if you give me the chance.”

Arthur stood next to Gwen. “I didn’t know about this until recently, but you almost outed my sister,” Arthur said.  
  
“She came out to you?” Vivian looked happy for all of two seconds before Arthur raised an eyebrow at her. “I’m sorry. And I don’t know if you’ll believe me, but that was all Margaret. I only took the heat because… Well, I might have had a huge crush on her.”  
  
They were silent for a moment. “And what about Merlin?” Gwen asked. “What about _me_?”  
  
“I’m sorry,” Vivian said, miserable. “I know I can’t take back all the terrible things I said. If he—or you—don’t want to hear from me, I completely understand. But from the bottom of my heart, I am sorry. If I can do anything to make it better, just let me know.”  
  
Arthur and Gwen exchanged a look. “Arthur,” Gwen said.  
  
“For now.” Gwen’s warning sounded almost like a threat, but she gave Vivian a little smirk. Vivian smiled with gratitude and sat down, moving her chair close to Elena’s so there was space for Arthur to pull up another one for Gwen.

“Do I wanna know what that was all about?” Elena asked in a whisper.

“I don’t know,” Vivian replied, shaking her head. “I don’t wanna repeat any of the stuff I said back then. But you can ask them.”

Elena nodded, sure they’d tell her if they wanted to talk about it.

xxx

That weekend brought Elyan’s long-awaited return.  
  
“I think that’s him,” said Gwen, who had been craning her neck looking out the windows for the better part of the past hour. “It’s him!” she confirmed, breathless, and shot out of her chair. He noticed her as soon as she got up and ran up to her. They embraced each other as if they would never let go, and Elena could see Elyan’s lips forming the words _I missed you_ over and over.

“Don’t cry,” Merlin murmured. “Just don’t cry.”  
  
“I’m not crying,” Mordred hissed and elbowed him.  
  
“Ow! I’m not talking to you, I’m talking to them!” Merlin replied, looking at Elyan and Gwen. “If I see one of them cry, I’ll be done for.”  
  
“Me too, actually,” Mordred said. “Sorry.”  
  
“It’s fine.” Merlin gave Elyan a bright smile when he and Gwen turned to the rest of them.  
  
“Hey.” Gwen spoke and signed at the same time. “If you haven’t met him, this is my brother, Elyan. I let him know that you’ve been studying sign language, but until you’re confident in your skills, he asks that you use your phones or notepads to write down whatever you want to say if it’s difficult for you to understand each other. Is that alright?” She directed the question at Elena and Vivian, who were the only ones that were behind on their studying.  
  
“Of course,” Vivian said with a smile. Elena gave Elyan two thumbs up, and he mimicked the gesture with a grin. He looked down to where Mordred was patting down the seat between the sofa and Elena’s chair.  
  
“Wanna scooch?” Elena asked and Vivian readily moved to the left so that Elena could give her seat to Gwen. Gwen smiled and sat down, following Mordred and Elyan’s silent conversation.

“Gwen?” Elena said and waited for her to turn to around again. “Do you have a mirror?”  
  
“No, why?”  
  
“Your eyeliner’s smudged a bit.”  
  
“Ah, shit. I didn’t bring my kit today.” Gwen sighed. “I’ll go to the restroom.”  
  
“Want me to come, see if I can help?” Vivian offered.  
  
Gwen hesitated, but then said, “Sure.”  
  
“Come with us.” Vivian patted Elena’s shoulder as she got up.  
  
Elena laughed, but she followed them nonetheless. The space in front of the mirror was just enough to fit the three of them.  
  
“Can I ask you something?” Vivian said to no one in particular.  
  
“What is it?” Elena asked. She barely contained her grin, remembering all the breaks she’d spent gossiping with her school friends.  
  
“Is Percy… Who is he with?”  
  
Elena had expected any question but that. “What?”  
  
“I was just curious,” Vivian said, defensive. “Like, is he dating Lancelot or Mordred?”  
  
Gwen frowned. “None of them, to my knowledge. Could you take a closer look?” she asked and turned to Vivian, tilting her head towards the light.  
  
“Curious,” Vivian repeated. “He seems really close with Lance.”  
  
“They were friends when they were little,” Elena said. “I forgot to tell you the other day.”  
  
“Wow, and they’re still close?” Vivian asked and rummaged through her bag, producing a cotton swab and some kind of cream. “That’s wonderful.”  
  
“They were apart for quite a while. We met Percy the evening before they reunited, actually.”  
  
“No way,” Vivian said. She swiped gently near Gwen’s eye. “This wing got a bit shorter, want me to even them out?”  
  
“Sure,” Gwen said. “Thanks.”  
  
“No problem. So wait, Mordred has known Percy just around a month now, right?”  
  
“Yeah,” Elena confirmed. “Why?”  
  
“Huh,” was all Vivian said in reply. “How did he meet Lance?”  
  
“Neither of them wants to talk about it,” Gwen said.  
  
Elena saw Vivian’s reflection raise an eyebrow. “Why?”  
  
Gwen shrugged.  
  
“Knowing them, someone looked at Mordred funny, so Lance beat them up.” Elena tried to pass it as a joke, but Gwen looked at her past Vivian with fear in her eyes, knowing it was entirely possible that that had been the case.  
  
“Doesn’t seem like the type to beat up people often,” Vivian said after a moment’s silence.  
  
“No,” Elena agreed.  
  
“He definitely is the type to defend his friends or anyone who needs it, though,” Gwen said and watched Vivian dispose of the cotton swab. “At least, that’s what I gather from Mordred’s stories.”  
  
“Yeah, that’s the thing,” Elena said. “We’ve only just _officially_ met him. There could be something weird about him we don’t know.”  
  
“I see,” Vivian replied.  
  
“Speaking of weird,” Gwen started after a moment, “not that Percy is weird!” she hurried to add. “But have you noticed… something about him?”  
  
“Something weird?” Elena chuckled. Gwen shrugged. “I don’t know. I think I have. But we’re not exactly close, yet. I couldn’t tell.”  
  
Vivian laughed.  
  
“What?” Gwen asked.  
  
“He doesn’t look at your boobs when you’re talking to him,” Vivian explained. “Like, not even a glance.”  
  
“Huh,” Elena said. “That’s… weird.”  
  
Vivian shrugged. “I mean, most people do it. I know I do. Sorry about that.”  
  
Gwen waved her off. “It’s fine. It can be flattering if you’re not rude about it.”  
  
“Right?” Vivian laughed as she ran her fingers through her hair. “Are we ready?”  
  
“Wait,” Elena said. “Does Percy look at Mordred’s boobs?”  
  
Vivian bit her lips. “I mean, he tries not to. But they’re always in his face when Mordred’s on the arm rest next to him.”  
  
Elena laughed. “How do you even notice these things? You’ve only been around a couple of days.”  
  
“I was homeschooled,” Vivian reminded her. “There wasn’t much to gossip about at home, so I noticed everything once I got out.”  
  
“You really did,” Gwen said, but didn’t elaborate. Elena went out the restroom and held the door for them.  
  
“What were you doing in there?” Mordred asked and signed.  
  
“Talking about boobs,” Gwen replied in kind. Elyan laughed.  
  
“Fair enough,” Mordred said.  
  
Elena’s phone chimed and she got it out of her purse. She read the text and sighed.  
  
“What is it?” Mordred asked.  
  
“I knew the day when I have to actually work for my money would come, sooner or later.” She was grateful to see Gwen was interpreting her words to Elyan. “I’m a substitute teacher,” she explained for him and Vivian. “I’m supposed to be there all the time, but they let me stay at home and call me whenever I’m needed so that I’m not in their way. One of the teachers is having a baby, so I’ll be there for a couple of months until she returns or they find someone else.”  
  
“Months?” Mordred sounded scandalised. “What am I gonna do without you?”  
  
Elena rolled her eyes. “Honey, we live together. We’ll still see each other all the time. I just won’t be able to hang out here as much.”

“ _Still,_ " he murmured, but didn’t complain any further. “Wait, are you going now?”  
  
“Yeah,” Elena said, picking up her purse. “I need to meet up with Lilly so she can tell me all about her kids.” She frowned in thought. “Am I supposed to bring her a gift? Or is that just after the baby is born?”  
  
“You could bring her flowers,” Elyan said slowly. He glanced at Gwen, and she gave him thumbs up to show his tone was alright. “That’s always nice.”  
  
“Is there a chance she could think that you’re hitting on her?” Merlin asked.  
  
“No, I don’t think so,” Elena said. “Flowers, it is. Thank you. It was nice to meet you,” she signed.  
  
“You, too,” Elyan said.  
  
“Hey,” Vivian said quietly and reached for her. Elena leaned in. “When do you start?”  
  
“Next week,” Elena whispered. It took her a moment to realise why Vivian looked sad. “Don’t worry. You can still come here and hang out with them. I’m not your only friend here.”  
  
Vivian gave her a long look. “You’re the only person who’s called me _friend_ within days of knowing me.”  
  
“I mean it,” Elena replied. “They’ll warm up to you, too.” Vivian still didn’t seem convinced. “Bring Sophia whenever she has the time.”  
  
Vivian took a deep breath. “Alright.”  
  
“I’ll see you around,” she said and planted a small kiss at Vivian’s temple. She walked away and turned around to wave at them, then tried not to think of Vivian’s soft smile on her way to meeting Lilly.

xxx

“Hey, do you mind if Percy comes over and stays the night?”  
  
Elena raised an eyebrow as she let her hair down. “I thought they were all moved in.” It’d been a couple of weeks since Elyan had come back. He, Percy and Lance had hit it right off and decided to move in as soon as possible.

“Yeah, yeah, they’re alright.”

“What’s the occasion, then?”  
  
“The first episode is coming out at midnight!” Mordred announced, bouncing and clapping his hands together.  
  
Elena rolled her eyes. “Is this gonna happen for every episode?”  
  
“Probably,” Mordred said. “And in-between. He’s really fun to hang out with, you know.” Elena wondered whether Mordred realised how soft his smile was. “And even if he wasn’t, the game is all I care about.”  
  
“Of course,” Elena agreed. _That’s why the flat is pristine and you’ve baked as many goods as our kitchen can handle._ Or was she reading too much into it and mistaking Mordred’s hospitality for affection? _God damn it, Vivian_ , Elena cursed silently. At a dinner last month Vivian had let Elena know that all she wanted to do was bring Mordred and Percy closer together and command, _Now kiss._  
  
“Have you seen Vivian recently?” she asked.  
  
“Yeah,” Mordred said carefully.  
  
“But?”  
  
Mordred hesitated. “Sophia’s been tagging along?”  
  
Elena tilted her head to the side. “Why is that a question?”  
  
“I’m not sure it’s a good idea,” Mordred blurted out. Elena realised he’d been _dying_ to tell someone what he thought, but hadn’t for whatever reason. “I’m not sure _she’s_ a good idea.”  
  
“Harsh.” Elena frowned. She went to wash her hands. “She can’t be that bad.”  
  
“I’m not saying she’s _bad_. I mean, Vivian seems so much more comfortable when she’s around, so that’s great. She’s just. Standoffish. I thought she was shy at first, but I don’t know. Vivian’s all over her, and it’s like she doesn’t even care.”  
  
Elena dried her hands on the towel draped over Mordred’s shoulder. “Maybe she’s just not into public displays of affection?”  
  
“Maybe,” Mordred agreed. “As I said, I don’t think she’s a bad person. I just… I don’t know. Talk to Vivian more often. Keep an eye on her, alright?”  
  
“Of course.” Elena smirked. “Is it me, or are you starting to care?”  
  
Mordred huffed. “Of course I care. I mean, we’re not best friends, but she’s only been nice since she’s been with us. I don’t want her to get hurt.”  
  
“She won’t,” Elena promised him. “Has she been getting along with everyone?”  
  
“Pretty much. She’s getting close to Gwaine, of all people.” Mordred shook his head. “They’re both a little rough around the edges, but they always call out each other’s shit. It’s quite a show sometimes.”  
  
“I seem to be missing a lot,” Elena murmured.  
  
Mordred pulled her into a hug. “Come down more often. Even if it’s for a little bit.”  
  
Elena sighed. “I really can’t. I don’t know why, I’m just drained at the end of every day.”

Mordred hesitated. “Don’t be mad,” he said into her shoulder. “But Merlin wanted me to ask you if you’d spoken to your doctor about your fatigue.”

Elena laughed. “He hasn’t graduated and he’s healing us already. I haven’t, but tell him not to worry. I think it’s just because I haven’t been active in a while. I used to do all sorts of things back home, I should really start exercising again.”  
  
“Or you could quit,” Mordred said. “Why strive towards a healthy life when my grandpa can support both of our lazy ones? Hell, I can support both of us with the money he’s already given me.”  
  
She kissed Mordred’s temple and let that remark slide, unsure whether he’d actually want to talk about his grandfather at that moment. “Unless we do a giant sleepover, I don’t know when I’ll be able to hang out with _everyone._ ”  
  
Mordred pulled away to look at her. “You know that we can actually arrange that, right?”  
  
The doorbell rang before she could reply. She frowned. “He’s already here?”  
  
Mordred gave her an innocent smile. He pulled the towel from his shoulder and grimaced when air hit the newly-uncovered spot. “Fuck, I’m wet,” he complained. Elena snorted a laugh. “Shut up!” Mordred said, even though he was laughing himself. He threw the towel to the side and headed towards his bedroom. “Get it!”  
  
“I look a bigger mess than you!” Elena shouted after him.

“You’re beautiful in every single way!”  
  
Elena was still grinning when she opened the door. Percy grinned in reply when he saw her.  
  
“Lena! It’s so good to see you,” he said.  
  
She didn’t recall anyone else calling her Lena in her life, but she decided she was alright with it. “You, too! And what is this?” She looked at the small potted cactus in his hand.  
  
“That…” He chuckled. “We didn’t get a lot of housewarming gifts, but turns out we didn’t need even them. Elyan rediscovered his love for houseplants and went a little overboard. So far we haven’t gone even a day without knocking one of them over.” He shook his head. “So we’re wondering if you’re willing to give little Spork here a new home.”  
  
“Spork!” Elena laughed. “That’s the best name I’ve heard in my life! We’ll gladly keep him,” she said and took it out of Percy’s hands.  
  
“We’re glad to hear it,” Percy said.  
  
Holding Spork away from Percy, Elena leaned in to give him a one-armed hug. She’d intended to keep it short, but found herself lingering when Percy wrapped his arm around her and squeezed her close.  
  
“Come in,” she invited him once they separated. Percy toed his shoes off and picked a pair of slippers when Elena pointed at the basket. “We keep a pair for everyone who comes regularly,” she explained. “I’m sure Mordred will have a new pair for you next time you visit.”

“Oh,” Percy said. “I could buy—”  
  
“Nope,” Elena cut him off. “Mordred buys them for everyone.”  
  
Percy chuckled. “Alright, then,” he said as he put them on. “Whatever you do, don’t invite Gwaine over.”  
  
“Why?”  
  
“He walks barefoot at home.”  
  
Elena put her hand on her chest in mock horror. “Barbaric,” she whispered.  
  
Percy laughed. “I mean, you joke, but they’d literally battle over something like that.”  
  
“If you say so,” Elena murmured. She honestly had no idea how Gwaine would react. “Can I help you with that?” she asked and pointed at the plastic bag in Percy’s hand.  
  
“Yeah, it’s just some snacks and beer. Mordred told me you’re not the biggest fan of alcohol, so I brought you some soft drinks.”  
  
“That’s very thoughtful.” Elena smiled at him. “Come on in.”  
  
Mordred found them in the kitchen just as Elena was filling a bowl with popcorn. “Hey,” he said softly and rose to his toes to kiss Percy’s cheek. _That’s new_. Or was it? Elena turned away to hide her smile. “You picked Arthur’s slippers!” he said with glee. “But don’t worry, we wash them after someone wears them and leaves. Did Elle tell you?”  
  
“I didn’t doubt it,” Percy said, quelling Mordred’s nerves in a second. Why was Mordred so jittery in the first place?  
  
“Look!” Elena grabbed the cactus from the counter and held it up for Mordred to see. “His name is Spork!”  
  
Mordred cupped his cheeks and got closer. “Whose baby is this?”  
  
Elena laughed. “It’s ours! A gift from Elyan.”  
  
“Really?” Mordred looked from her to Percy for confirmation.  
  
“Really,” Percy said. “He didn’t exactly want to part with him, but he trusts your caring hands.”  
  
“Please thank him for us,” Mordred said. “This is adorable, what the _heck_.”  
  
Elena smiled. “I think I’ll thank him myself. Can I take Spork to keep me company for a bit?”  
  
Mordred frowned at her. “You’re not staying with us?”

“Afraid not.” Elena was already feeling awkward around them, she wasn’t in the mood for an entire evening full of will-they-won’t-they. “I don’t want the game to spoil the story for me.”  
  
“Whatever you say.” Mordred kissed her cheek, reminding her romantic partners weren’t the only ones he got affectionate with. “Good night.”  
  
“Night.” She stopped by Percy to give him a hug, but he misread her intentions and leaned in to kiss both her cheeks. Pleasantly surprised at how comfortable he seemed to feel around her, she gave him a bright smile. “Have fun, you two.”  
  
“Will do,” Percy said. “Sorry if we get too excited and shout a bit.”  
  
“Walls are thick enough,” Mordred assured him as Elena walked out. She smirked to herself.  
  
In her room, Elena placed Spork under the light and snapped a picture of him. She sent it to Elyan and added a quick text, _i’ll put him somewhere he’ll get enough sunlight tomorrow. tonight, he’s watching over me._  
  
Elyan was either a great actor, or he was well and truly distressed in the picture he sent as a reply. Elena laughed.  
  
_don’t worry, you can still visit him! we’ll be the greatest foster parents you’ve ever seen_  
**-sigh- I don’t doubt it.**  
_i expect detailed instructions on Spork care directly from you, or links to places where helpful people on the internet will be helpful_  
**I got U. Good night, Elena. Good night, my son**  
  
“Good night, Spork,” Elena whispered, then shook her head at the ridiculousness.  
  
_good night from both of us!!_

xxx

“Arthur? What’s up?”  
  
“Hey, Elle. I just wanted to talk to you. It’s been a while.”  
  
Elena sighed. “I know, I’m sorry. How’ve you been?”  
  
“No, don’t be sorry! Hang on.” Elena heard a door slide open and closed. The receiver picked up the winds around Arthur. “Can you hear me?”  
  
“Yeah, it’s okay. Do you have someone over?”  
  
“No, it’s just me and Merlin. I didn’t wanna bother him.”  
  
There was something in Arthur’s tone that bothered _her._ “Is everything okay?”  
  
“Yeah, of course. I just…”  
  
“Arthur?”  
  
“Forget about it,” he said, frustrated. “I can’t just… Nevermind.” It’d been a while since Arthur had had something he ached to tell someone, yet couldn’t find the words to do it.  
  
“Don’t worry about it,” Elena said. “You don’t have to tell me now. How is work?”  
  
“Work is work.” He didn’t sound that interested in the subject, but Elena could tell he was grateful for the switch. “You know us P.E. teachers have it easy.”  
  
She smiled. “You really do. How is Merlin?”  
  
Arthur took a deep breath. “He… I don’t know. He worries me.”  
  
“How so?”  
  
Elena could almost feel his shrug over the phone. “He spends less and less time at home. I don’t know what he’s doing when he’s out. I thought he was just studying in the library or with friends or whatever, but… I caught him crying the other day.”  
  
“Is that a first?” Elena asked.  
  
“Not really. But it seemed different. He looks worse by the day.”  
  
“Have you tried talking to him?”  
  
“Of course,” Arthur said, bitter. “He told me to piss off and locked himself in his room. I thought I’d ask you about it, since you’re the one who’s used to dealing with children every day.”  
  
“Arthur!” Elena scolded.  
  
“See?” Arthur managed a laugh, but he didn’t sound all that happy. “I’m sorry. I’m joking. I’m… I’m scared for him, Elle.” _Scared?_ Chills ran down Elena’s spine.  
  
There was a knock on her door.  
  
“Hold on, Arthur,” she said. “Yeah?”  
  
“I just wanted to let you know Merlin’s coming over,” Mordred said from the other side. “I know you’ve gone to bed already, but I thought I should tell you so you’re not surprised when you see him in the morning.”

“What? Can you come in?” Mordred did. “Did he just call?”  
  
“Yeah, he just went out. Why?” Mordred asked.  
  
“Merlin’s coming over,” Elena told Arthur.  
  
“What?” she heard the door slide again as Arthur went back inside their flat. “And he didn’t even tell me! He— he left me a fucking note.”  
  
“What does it say?”  
  
“That he’ll be gone for two nights and I should invite Gwen over to make use of the time.”  
  
“Two nights?” Elena looked up and Mordred nodded in confirmation. “Maybe he needs a break.”  
  
Arthur huffed. “From me?”  
  
“I didn’t say that.”  
  
“But it’s what you meant. He didn’t even tell me where he went. He obviously wants to get rid of me.”  
  
“Arthur, you’re overreacting.”  
  
“Am I?”  
  
“Yes, you are,” Elena said, stern. “Did it not occur to you that maybe he doesn’t wanna bother you?”  
  
“He’s my best friend!”  
  
“And you’re his,” Elena insisted. “He’s probably noticed that you’re worried. And that you’ve got… Something else on your mind.” Arthur didn’t reply. “Maybe he’ll open up to Mordred.” Mordred himself didn’t seem convinced. She shrugged. “We’ll see what we can do, alright?”  
  
Arthur sighed. “Alright. Thank you. I… I love you, alright?”  
  
She couldn’t remember whether he’d ever said that to her before. “I love you, too.”  
  
She hung up and rubbed her forehead.  
  
“What’s up?” Mordred asked.  
  
“Have you seen Merlin recently?”  
  
“Not more than usual.”  
  
“He’s been… Weird, apparently. I mean, don’t mention that to him, but Arthur’s worried.”  
  
Mordred frowned and sat at the edge of her bed. “Merlin’s been weird around me ever since I met him, though.” As much as Elena wanted to, she couldn’t deny she’d noticed that, even if the two of them had had the occasional friendly moment. “I don’t think I’m the first person he’d open up to.”  
  
“He did call you,” Elena suggested.  
  
“Only ‘cause he thought you were asleep.”  
  
Elena sighed and made to get up.  
  
“Oh, no, that’s not what I meant,” Mordred said and put a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll stay with him as long as he wants. I just wasn’t sure I could help him. But you don’t have to do this, I know you’re tired.”  
  
Elena sighed. “I wanna be there for him, though.”  
  
“I know.” Mordred smiled. “You can’t be there for everybody.”  
  
Elena closed her eyes and sighed.  
  
“Honey?”  
  
“It’s fine, I just.” Elena took a deep breath. “I miss you.” She had managed to make more time for her friends, and Mordred kept filling her in on what she’d missed, but it just wasn’t _the same_. She’d managed to balance her work and social life before, and she couldn’t figure out what was stopping her this time around. She hesitated for a moment before her next admission. “You know how you meet someone and you chat or text or whatever every day and it’s the best thing in the world?”  
  
Mordred smiled softly. “Yeah?”  
  
“Well, once you stop, it becomes one of the shittiest.”  
  
Mordred’s smile fell. “You haven’t been talking to Vivian?”  
  
“Not really.” Elena sighed. “I know she’s busy, and so am I. But. I don’t know, it just sucks.”  
  
Mordred leaned in and placed a small kiss on her forehead. “I’m sorry.”  
  
“No it’s fine. It’s dumb, forget I said anything.”

“It’s not dumb,” Mordred assured her. “If it makes you feel any better, I think she misses you, too.”  
  
Elena frowned. “What makes you say that?”  
  
“I don’t know, she just seems… Sad. Or maybe it’s just the general energy of the group,” he hurried to add. “Everyone seems all sorts of fucked up when you’re not around.”  
  
Elena didn’t know what to make of that statement. “I’ll come back soon and fix you all right up.”  
  
“Is that a promise?” Mordred teased.  
  
“Yeah, actually,” she said and grinned at the way it made Mordred perk up. “They just found someone new. I should be free in a couple of weeks, if they approve her.”  
  
“That’s the best news I’ve heard in a long time,” he said and gave her another kiss. “Get some sleep, now. I have a guest to prepare for.”  
  
“Good luck.”

xxx

“Yo!” Gwaine nearly shouted when he saw her approaching. “Are you back?”  
  
Elena had a feeling she looked way too tired for her happiness to shine through, but she smiled and spread her arms, anyway. “I’m back!”  
  
Only three of her friends were around, but their cheers soon took over the café and all the kids were applauding, even if they didn’t know why. Gwaine took a hold of her and lift her up. She was laughing too hard to let him know she was so exhausted she was actually a bit dizzy.  
  
“What are we clapping for?” Someone shouted from the other end of the café.  
  
“She doesn’t have to work with toddlers anymore!” Gwaine roared in reply.  
  
“Or deal with their parents!” Elena supplied. The applause arose anew. Gwaine put her back on the ground so she could bow to her audience.  
  
“That was fun,” Elena said, out of breath. She slumped in her chair, stretching her legs under the table. “Man, I think I might actually quit.”  
  
“You figure that now?” Mordred asked. “You’ve been exhausted for months!”  
  
“I don’t have another source of income, honey.” Elena sighed and closed her eyes. “I’d have nothing else to do.”  
  
“We can support you until you find another job,” Vivian said. Elena cracked an eye open to see her soft smile.  
  
“That’s nice,” Elena murmured. She turned in her chair and looked up at Vivian. “How’ve you been?”  
  
“Alright,” Vivian replied. Elena wasn’t exactly convinced, but she couldn’t inquire further as Gwen, Lance, Elyan and Arthur chose that moment to arrive.  
  
She exchanged quick hugs with everyone before Gwaine caught her attention again.  
  
“Hey, Lena. Could I talk to you? Alone?”  
  
She raised her eyebrows but said, “Sure.”  
  
She followed him outside. She was way too sleepy to notice it at first, but the biting wind helped her sober up and pay attention to Gwaine’s nervous fidgeting. “What’s up?”  
  
“I’m sorry to drag you into this,” he started and she felt her stomach fill with dread. “I didn’t know who else to tell. You seem like the most sensible person in this group.”  
  
_You don’t even know me that well._ “I mean, I don’t know,” she mumbled. “I wouldn’t want anyone else to get dragged into whatever, at any case.”  
  
Gwaine huffed. “Some of them dragged themselves into it.”  
  
“What is that supposed to mean?”  
  
Gwaine took a deep breath. “I saw Gwen and Lance kiss.”  
  
“What?” she asked, voice coming out a lot quieter than she felt appropriate. “When?”  
  
“About a month ago.” Elena frantically tried to remember when her odd conversation with Arthur had happened. Did he know? Had he wanted to talk about it?  
  
“Was Arthur there?”  
  
“Next room,” Gwaine said.  
  
“Were they drunk?”  
  
“No!” Gwaine almost shouted in his desperation. “That’s the worst part of it, they were the designated drivers! I don’t know if they planned it or—”  
  
“No, no, no,” Elena said, waving her hands around to shut him up. “They couldn’t have. She wouldn’t!” She rubbed her forehead. “They wouldn’t do this to Arthur. Would they?”  
  
“I don’t know,” Gwaine said quietly. “Lance doesn’t seem the type. Neither does Gwen, to be honest, but you know her better than I do.” He sighed. “I’m sorry. I just felt like I’d explode if I didn’t tell anyone.”  
  
“So you haven’t?”  
  
“No.” Gwaine was silent for a moment. “Should we tell _him_?”  
  
_Why should_ I _be the one to decide_? Elena looked at Arthur through the window, his arm around Gwen’s shoulders. “I don’t know. Not now. Let’s just have a nice evening.”  
  
“Whatever you say,” Gwaine replied.  
  
“Maybe I _should_ spend some more time working, after all,” she said as they headed inside.  
  
Gwaine chuckled and rubbed her back in an attempt to comfort her.  
  
“Something wrong?” Mordred asked when they returned. Elena sprawled back in her seat, thankful the chair was wide and sturdy enough to let her do so, and didn’t even bother answering. She let Gwaine come up with whatever lie he could as punishment for bestowing such a shit secret upon her. She could feel Gwen, Arthur and Lance’s presence to the left of her burning a hole into her mind, but she made herself relax and soon dozed off.  
  
"Jane's a Shade!"  
  
Percy’s urgent voice startled Elena from her nap, but she didn’t open her eyes. She couldn’t see Mordred's face, but she imagined he looked very confused. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"She's a Shade. Think about it."  
  
And Mordred did. After a moment he gasped, then choked. Elena cracked an eye open, alarmed, and saw Percy caress Mordred’s back, then go to pat it, but Mordred raised a hand to stop him.  
  
"She can't be," he said when he had his breath again.  
  
"I'll show you."  
  
Percy raised an eyebrow, then smirked when Mordred rolled his eyes and moved to the armrest. He waited for Percy to sit in his spot, then toed his shoes off and stretched his legs over Percy’s lap until they rested on Lancelot’s thigh.  
  
“When…?” Elena mumbled. _Since when are they sitting in each other’s laps?_ she wanted to ask, but her brain wasn’t _that_ awake yet.  
  
“A while.” Vivian smiled without looking up from her phone.  
  
“Huh,” Elena mumbled. Somehow the idea to push her chair closer to Vivian’s and nap on her shoulder seemed entirely too attractive.  
  
“Elena!” Gwen caught her attention and Elena leaned so she could see her past Vivian. “What did you do in your last week?”  
  
Elena slapped her knee at the memory and announced, a little too loudly, "Friendship bracelets!" She dug through her purse and pulled out a few of the string creations. "There's purple for you," she said as she reached to put it around Gwen's wrist. "A green one for Gwaine, and a red one for Arthur." She was sure the others weren’t ones to accessorise.  
  
Gwaine put his on with a grin and showed it off like an expensive watch, and Arthur just stared at his with a soft smile.  
  
"I would have brought one for you, but I supposed you and Sophia would rather have something that looked a bit more... professional," Elena told Vivian.  
  
"Oh, don't worry. I would have liked it because it's sweet... but thank you for the thought, really." Vivian looked up from her phone and smiled. "I... I'm sure Soph will be grateful, too."  
  
Elena smiled back, but she was left a bit worried. Either Vivian had changed, or there really was something odd about behaviour that evening. There was something odd about everyone. They all looked… Tired. Mordred and Percy were the only ones who livened up the group.  
  
"You should make a post about it," Mordred said, pointing at the screen. Percy frowned. "Or a video! Everyone makes video theories these days."  
  
"I'm not sure," Percy said. "I mean, if it's gonna be a video, it'll be better if there's a voice-over, and I'm not doing that."  
  
Mordred was silent for a moment. "I could do it. Or Merlin, if he has the time. He's got a nice voice. What?" he asked when Percy made a face again.  
  
"I don't know. I mean, it's a long shot, but if I'm right... I don't wanna spoil the game for people."  
  
"That's what people _want_." Mordred rolled his eyes again. "What else are they gonna do besides watch theories in-between episodes?"  
  
Before Percy could reply, Vivian spoke. "Why episodes?"  
  
The entire group looked at her and she straightened in her seat. "I mean. Aren't you talking about a video game?"  
  
Mordred exchanged a look with Percy before he replied. "Yeah. It comes out in episodes, and what the player gets depends on the choices they've made in the previous ones."  
  
"Huh," Vivian said. "That's... a thing, now?"  
  
"Yes," Mordred said. "Do you wanna play with us?" he blurted out a second later and Gwaine laughed.  
  
"I... I think I might actually like that," Vivian said, to everyone's astonishment.  
  
Mordred exchanged another look with Percy, and when the latter nodded Mordred beckoned her closer with a finger. Vivian smiled at the invitation and got up.  
  
"I can also do the voice-over," she said. "For your thingy. I studied acting for a bit a while back, I wasn't half bad."  
  
"You're gonna have to play the first three episode, though," Mordred said. "You wouldn't understand it otherwise."  
  
Vivian's eyes narrowed in consideration. "How long are these episodes?"  
  
"Depends. Two to three hours?"  
  
She look at her phone again and slid a finger over it. "Are you free tomorrow and Sunday?" She waited for Mordred and Percy to confirm before she said, "Then it's decided."  
  
"Weren’t you going away with Soph this weekend?" Gwen asked.  
  
Vivian gave her a tense smile. "That fell through. As did all my other plans with her for the near future."  
  
"Is she okay?" Gwen asked, tilting her head to the side.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, she’s fine. It's just that. We're not. We broke it off last week. I'm fine, really." She waved a hand when everyone tried to express their regret. "Just... tell me about this game of yours," she said, motioning towards the laptop and propping herself on the back of the sofa so that she could watch.  
  
Before Mordred could start explaining, a woman came over with a sizeable bag with The Smuggler’s logo on it.  
  
“You’re Elena?”  
  
“Yep!”  
  
“I’m Mithian,” the woman said. Elena could finally put a face to the name of The Smuggler’s baker she’d only heard about.  
  
“Oh, hi! It’s very nice to meet you.”  
  
“You, too.” Mithian smiled. She offered her the bag. “I kind of went overboard today, so Tristan suggested I give them to you. As a welcome-home sort of thing.”  
  
“Oh, that’s so nice!” Elena said. “Thank you so much, both of you.”  
  
“It’s no problem,” Mithian said. She acknowledged the rest of the group, but her eyes seemed to stop on someone and she gave them a small wave. Elena turned to see Elyan giving her a smile full of affection. When she walked away, Lancelot did not miss the chance to elbow him in the ribs and sign something too quick for Elena to catch. Elena exchanged a look with Gwen and they both grinned before Elena remembered what Gwaine had told her earlier. She sighed and looked at the bag.  
  
“I think I’m gonna take this upstairs,” she said. “I’m gonna need like a week of sleep before I come to terms that I have to spend all my time with you losers again.”  
  
Mordred laughed. He turned to Percy and Vivian. “Do you wanna come home, actually? It’ll be a lot easier to do this there.”  
  
“Always up for a pyjama party,” Vivian said.  
  
Percy grinned. “Me, too.”  
  
“We’ll see you tomorrow, right?” Gwen asked.  
  
“Of course,” Elena said.  
  
“Best news I’ve heard in a while,” Arthur said. Elena smiled at him, then at Mordred, who had caught the resemblance between his and Arthur’s words, as well.  
  
Elena noticed Gwaine seemed a bit uncomfortable. She caught his eye and motioned for him to get up.

Gwaine grinned. “Yeah?”  
  
“Come on,” she said and gave him a hand. “We might need to go get some snacks, through. I’m not sure what we have at home.”  
  
“I’ll do that,” Gwaine said at once. “I actually haven’t had dinner, so I’ll pick up something on the way.”  
  
“Oh, you’re coming too?” Vivian asked.  
  
“Of course. Do you think I’d miss you doing anything related to video games?”  
  
Vivian rolled her eyes. “Do you really think I haven’t played anything before? I might be a bit behind, but that doesn’t mean I can’t kick your ass in anything retro.”  
  
Mordred raised his eyebrows. “Do I hear a challenge?”  
  
Vivian shrugged and grinned. “Come on, I’ll come with you to get the food,” she said and pulled on Gwaine’s arm. “You didn’t get a coat again, did you?”  
  
“Why would I?” Elena heard Gwaine ask as they retreated.  
  
In the flat, Elena sat with Percy on the sofa while Mordred ran around to set up computers and consoles—and refused any offers for help. When he was finally done, he sighed and sat close to Percy, letting him wrap an arm around his shoulders.  
  
“Everything okay?” Percy asked.  
  
“Yeah, I’ve just… I was thinking about something. It’s not a big deal,” Mordred replied.  
  
“If you’re sure,” Percy murmured and kissed the top of Mordred’s head.  
  
Elena didn’t know what to do with herself, so she lay down on her side and closed her eyes. “Are you gonna play now?”  
  
“If Viv wants to,” Mordred said. “I kind of want her to play for herself.”  
  
“Wait,” Percy said. “Why did you bring out your mic?”  
  
Mordred hesitated. “I kind of wanted to record it?”  
  
“Are you… Do you want us to start a gaming channel?”  
  
“Maybe?” Mordred said. “I’ve always wanted to.”  
  
“Me too, actually. I…” Percy chuckled. “I’ve made artwork. For an icon and header and all.”  
  
Mordred gasped. “Can I see it?”  
  
“Absolutely not,” Percy replied. “But I’ll make new ones, as soon as we figure out who’s gonna be a part of it.”  
  
“Count me out,” Elena murmured. She didn’t realize their voices were lulling her to sleep until she was startled out of her nap for the second time that evening.  
  
“Hey,” Vivian said softly and got a lock of hair out of Elena’s face. “Want me to help you to bed?”  
  
“‘s fine,” Elena replied and sat up. She rubbed her eyes. “I can stay awake for a bit.”  
  
“Awesome,” Vivian replied and turned away from her. “What did you guys wanna ask us?”  
  
“Well, Gwaine is out, so it’s only you that has to decide, really,” Mordred said. “We wanna start a let’s play channel—which consists of recording yourself playing through a game and uploading it to the internet.”  
  
“Sounds fun,” Vivian said. “I think I’ve seen a couple of those, actually. Are cameras gonna be involved?”  
  
“Hell, no.” Percy laughed. “Just our voices. We’re already fighting on what the channel name would be, though.”  
  
“I don’t see what’s wrong with having a _Fortunes_ -related name,” Mordred said. “It’s what we’re focusing on! It’s what’s bringing us together!”  
  
“It’s what we’re focusing on _for now._ I don’t know if we’ll stick with this, we might start doing different things. It’s better to have a name that’ll have people think of us, not the franchise.”

Mordred turned to Vivian for support. Vivian sighed. “I know this series is your favourite thing, but Percy’s right. And before you come at me, I just wanna point out that our initials literally spell out MVP.”  
  
Mordred’s protests died on his lips. He looked at Percy.  
  
“Most valuable players,” Percy murmured. “It’s alright.”  
  
“There’s probably a thousand channels with that name already, though,” Mordred said.  
  
“As long as there aren’t any big ones, I think we should be alright,” Percy said. He smiled. “Are we doing this?”  
  
“Hell, yeah!” Vivian said and gave him a high-five.  
  
“This is gonna be fun,” Gwaine said and sat next to Elena.  
  
“Mm-hmm,” Elena said and leaned on his shoulder. “I just hope we don’t upset the Betties.”  
  
“The whats?”  
  
“Betty who lives upstairs and Bettie who lives downstairs,” Elena explained. “The walls usually do their job, but we sometimes get noise complaints from them. They’re both older ladies, and they’re really sweet, so it’s especially shitty to know we’ve bothered them.”  
  
“I’m sure it’ll be alright.”  
  
Elena felt herself dozing off again, but then she realised she had something to ask Mordred. “Honey, have you talked to Merlin recently?”  
  
Merlin hadn’t told Mordred what was bothering him, but the way Mordred described it, it seemed they had bonded a bit last time he had been over.

“Texting.” Mordred smiled. “Every day.”  
  
Elena smiled back. “He’s alright?” She realised that the question might seem weird, so she added, “I was hoping I’d see him tonight. It’s been a while.”  
  
“He’s doing okay,” Mordred said.  
  
“He’s going to visit his mum next week,” Percy said.  
  
“He told you that?” Mordred asked.  
  
“Yeah. I’m going to visit family too, so we’re traveling together up to Essetir.”  
  
Before Elena could inquire any further, Mordred placed a hand on Percy’s arm. “You’re going away?”  
  
“Yeah, why?”  
  
“When? When are you coming back?”  
  
“Going on Monday and coming back on Friday. Don’t worry; I’ll be back in time for the new episode.”  
  
“If we want to make the video, we have to make it tomorrow,” Mordred pointed out.  
  
“Oh, shit,” Percy murmured. The two of them turned to Vivian.  
  
“We won’t be sleeping tonight, I guess,” Vivian said with a shrug.

“Speak for yourself,” Elena said. “I don’t think I can actually stay up. You all have fun.” She patted Gwaine’s thigh and got up.  
  
Vivian went up to her and gave her a tight hug. “Good night, dear,” she whispered. “I’m glad you’re back.”  
  
“Me, too,” Elena said. She barely managed to let Vivian go. “Good night, guys.”  
  
“Night!”

xxx

Next week, while Mordred was out with Elyan and Lance, Vivian knocked at their door.  
  
“I have a day off,” she announced. “I thought we might watch some crappy reality TV?”  
  
“Sounds great,” Elena said and gave way so Vivian could walk in and get her bunny slippers. “It’s just us, though, Mordred’s out.”  
  
“I don’t mind if you don’t.” Vivian smiled.  
  
“Not at all,” Elena replied. “I’ve wanted to spend more time with you.”  
  
“Have you, now,” Vivian teased.

Elena was glad she was in front of Vivian and able to hide her blush. “Yeah,” she said. “Are you doing okay?”  
  
“Yeah, I’m fine. Really, I am,” Vivian stressed when Elena turned to give her a look. “If I wanted to talk, I would.”  
  
“Good. I’m glad,” Elena said sincerely. “What do you wanna watch?”  
  
“There’s this cooking competition I’ve always wanted to check out.”  
  
Elena froze. “It wouldn’t be ChefHunter, would it?”  
  
“That’s the one! Have you seen it?”  
  
“Not really,” Elena said. “Mordred kind of hates it. You should know he’d feel the utmost betrayal if he catches us watching it.” It was only half a lie.  
  
“We’ll make sure he doesn’t catch us, then,” Vivian said. She got her laptop out of her bag and they settled on the sofa.  
  
Elena felt a strange kind of giddiness when she saw the host, Aredian Sexton, appear on the screen.

“Man, I’ve seen clips of this guy,” Vivian said. “He’s ruthless.”  
  
Elena hummed. “I hear he’s not like that in real life.”  
  
“God, I hope not.” Vivian laughed. “Can you imagine growing up around someone like that?”  
  
Elena let out an awkward laugh that turned into a gasp when she saw the first contestant.  
  
“What?!” Vivian very nearly shouted as she slammed the space bar. When Elena elbowed her, she said, quieter, “I’m sorry. I just— I’m— _What?_ ”  
  
“I know,” Elena said, staring at the screen. “I mean, I don’t know. When did he… What?”  
  
They stared at the man on the screen, who seemed a few years younger, but was undoubtedly their Percy.  
  
“He’ll never hear the end of this,” Vivian said and snapped a picture of the screen with her phone.  
  
“Wait,” Elena said. “Do you think this is the best idea?”  
  
“What do you mean?”  
  
“He hasn’t said a word about it all this time.” Elena shrugged. “He clearly doesn’t want us to know.”  
  
The look Vivian gave her was nothing short of tortured. “This is not something I’ll be able to stay quiet about. Please?”  
  
“I mean, you don’t need my permission,” Elena said. “Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.”  
  
Vivian’s hesitation lasted a moment more before she went back to her phone and quickly sent the text. It wasn’t a minute later when the three dots appeared next to Percy’s name.  
  
“Here we go,” Elena whispered.  
  
_TELL NO ONE_  
_viv please_  
  
Elena sighed. Vivian shot her a glance before she replied.  
  
_Elle is with me_  
  
There was a pause before Vivian’s phone rang.  
  
“I’ll put you on speaker, Perce,” she said in lieu of _hello_.  
  
“I’m serious,” was the first thing Percy said. “Don’t tell anyone. Not Lancelot, not Gwen, not Elyan. Fuck, not Mordred, especially not him.”  
  
“But why?” Vivian asked. “It’s not a big deal.”  
  
“ _Because_ , Vivian,” Percy grunted. “It’s not something I remember fondly. It’s not something I should have done at all.”  
  
“Still, I don’t think Mordred would judge you for it. If anything, he’ll understand why you did it,” Vivian insisted.  
  
“It seems that _you’re_ the one who doesn’t get it,” Percy said. “There’s a reason I haven’t talked about this. I _know_ Mordred wouldn’t judge me, this isn’t why…” He sighed. “You know what, fuck it. Watch it for yourself. Have a laugh. Just don’t you dare tell anyone else about it, or else you’re dead to me.”  
  
Vivian didn’t say anything for a long moment. What followed was a single sob as she hung up the phone.

“What was that about?” Elena asked. She shifted closer when Vivian covered her face, shaking. “Hey, hey, what’s wrong?”

“It’s my granny,” Vivian cried. “It’s exactly what she said when she found out that I am…” She took a deep breath. “She didn’t want _someone like me_ at her funeral.”

“Oh, Viv—”  
  
“I need to go,” Vivian rasped out. She rubbed her eyes as she got up.  
  
Elena followed her quietly and watched her kick the slippers off and get in her shoes. She opened the door forcefully to see Mordred standing on the other side with keys in his hand.  
  
“Hey!” He greeted, but she just pushed past him. “What’s the hurry?”  
  
Vivian took a steadying breath and turned to look at him with fire in her eyes. “Tell your fucking boyfriend that he needs to watch his mouth if he wants to keep what little friends he already has.”  
  
Mordred watched her go before he turned to Elena. “Since when do I have a boyfriend?” he tried to joke, but he was clearly worried, if not offended on Percy’s behalf.  
  
“Don’t actually tell him that,” Elena said, rubbing her forehead.  
  
“Obviously,” Mordred replied and walked in. “What the fuck happened?”  
  
_Where do I fucking start?_ She shook her head.

“You know what, fuck this. I’m tired. If _one_ more person’s issues drop in my lap, it will be the last you all see of me.” She tried to storm off to her room, but she thought of something half-way and clenched her jaw before she turned to Mordred again. “Does Percy know your last name?”  
  
“Of course not. You and Arthur are the only ones who’ve met my grandpa.”  
  
“Be sure it stays that way. And don’t ask why,” she raised a hand before Mordred could speak. “Don’t ask Percy about what happened, either. He’ll tell you if he wants to. Just pretend to be oblivious and you should be golden.”  
  
Mordred bit on his lips. “You do realize you’re still trying to solve, or at least keep everyone’s problems from spinning out of control, right?”  
  
Elena closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She was surprised when her vision was blurred by tears when she opened them. Mordred frowned in worry and took a step closer to her but she shook her head. “What’s happening, Mordred? How does everything keep going to shit?”  
  
“What do you mean?”  
  
“ _I mean_ that fucking everyone I know is hiding shit that’s eating them up inside and no one really wants to talk about it. Except if it’s just to dump it on me so I could worry along, or even instead of them. I’m not saying they should be talking to me—”  
  
“Then what _are_ you saying?”  
  
“I’m saying that I’m tired.” She sighed. “I shouldn’t be tired anymore. No one should be tired.” She laughed as she rubbed her eyes. “I know I sound stupid. I just… Get overwhelmed too easily these days.”

“Maybe you should talk to your doctor about it,” Mordred said with a little smile. He came closer and gave her a hug. “You don’t sound stupid.” He pulled away to look at her, keeping his hands on her shoulders. “You’re worried about everyone and you want to help them, but you can’t, and it _sucks._ I get it, I really do. But I keep telling you, it’s really not your responsibility to fix everything.”

“But—”  
  
“No buts,” he interrupted. “We’re all adults. We can fix our own problems.” He wiped her tears away with his thumbs. “If it makes you feel any better, I know what’s going on with Arthur and Gwen, it’s really not something bad. They’re just anxious. I don’t know what happened now, but I know Percy wouldn’t fight anyone unless they really hurt him. I’m sure they just said something without realizing how personal it was and it got ugly.”  
  
“Kind of,” Elena said. “It happened pretty fast. I think Viv thought she was helping but he didn’t like it. He just snapped and she got upset.” She shrugged. “I don’t think he’s in the wrong, but I don’t like it when Viv gets hurt.”  
  
Mordred nodded. “I get that. But it doesn’t seem like anything that won’t be fixed when they talk it out.”  
  
“I guess,” Elena said. “I’m sorry. I’m just tired.”  
  
“Because you kept everything inside for so long and didn’t share it with anyone,” Mordred remarked.  
  
Elena gave him a long look. “I guess,” she repeated and chuckled. “I’m gonna go take a nap and hope I’ll be a bit less of an asshole about everything when I wake up.”  
  
“Good idea.”

xxx

“Thank fuck I got my period while Percy is away,” Mordred groaned and wrapped himself in his blanket.  
  
Elena raised her eyebrows. “I thought he wasn’t your boyfriend.”  
  
“That’s— not what I meant.” Mordred laughed.  
  
“What _did_ you mean?”  
  
“I mean I’d have been really upset if he was here and I wasn’t able to see him just because it feels like a demon is trying to crawl its way out of my uterus.”  
  
Elena laughed with sympathy. “Does it feel like you’ll be better tomorrow?”  
  
“I dunno. I hope so. I’ve _got_ to be alright by Saturday, though. We’re recording this episode as soon as it drops.”  
  
Elena hesitated. “Just you and Percy?”  
  
“Viv, too,” Mordred said. He frowned. “They made up, didn’t you know?”  
  
“No, when?”  
  
“Yesterday. This is old news.” Mordred smiled. “I still have no idea what the whole thing was about, but Percy told me they admitted they were both being assholes and apologized.”  
  
“Are they completely okay, though?”  
  
Mordred sighed. “I think so. I hope, at least.”

Elena chuckled. “I think I’ll leave you alone for a bit. Do you want me to get you something from The Smuggler?”  
  
Mordred thought about it. “If Mithian has made a couple of my muffins today I wouldn’t turn them down.”  
  
“I’d protest you calling them yours but no one else would eat those abominations.”  
  
Mordred hugged a pillow close to his chest. “You’ll try _anything_ as long as it has strawberries in it. You don’t really have a say here.”

“I’ll leave the rest of this for when you’re fit to battle,” Elena relented. “I’ll see you later.”  
  
Mordred groaned in response.  
  
xxx

Elena: no raisins, just chocolate today  
dread: i’ll still have 10 thank u  
  
Elena sniggered. She was about to type in a reply when Percy walked into the café. She saw the excitement slip right off his expression as soon as he looked around and saw that the only familiar face was hers. It was quickly replaced by a warm smile, though, and he came closer to the table.  
  
"Hi," he greeted and reached a hand, a bit awkward.  
  
Elena wondered whether she should be upset with him on Vivian’s behalf for a moment, but then she smiled and got up, giving him a hug instead. Percival let out a surprised laugh, but he held her close and swayed her nonetheless.  
  
"It's good to see you," she said. He nodded thankfully with a small smile. "You wanted to see him?" she supposed.  
  
"Yeah," Percy admitted, scratching his neck. "I know it was stupid, but... He told me he was... Indisposed," he said meaningfully, and Elena nodded in understanding. "I thought he might be here anyway, if he needed cheering up. I thought I might surprise him." He chuckled. "Am I interrupting you, though?" he asked, motioning towards her laptop.  
  
"Not at all," Elena assured him. "The others are on their way, actually. You could stay, if you want to?"  
  
Percival pondered on it for a moment. "Yeah, okay. I could have a coffee. But I'm heading home afterwards, I'm tired as heck."  
  
Elena smiled, strangely gleeful at how Percy seemed to have picked up on some of Mordred’s speech habits. "Long trips will do that to you."  
  
"Yeah," Percy agreed. He left his backpack on the spot Mordred and he shared and went to get his coffee.  
  
Elena made sure he was far away enough before she opened the chat window back up.  
  
Elena: i need u to drag ur butt down here RIGHT NOW  
dread: no.  
Elena: honey i'm serious. u need to come  
dread: ... why the honey  
dread: what's happened  
dread: what are you planning  
Elena: i really can’t tell u. but i need u here. just throw on something other than ur pyjamas and GET. DOWN. HERE.  
Elena: or come down in ur pyjamas idc it's ur life  
dread: i totally would but pyjamas are shit and don't cover up Things  
dread: ... i also just found i've bled through them  
dread: literally FUCK my life  
dread: i need some time ok?  
Elena: idc as long as u do come. ilu  
dread: that’s debatable  
  
Elena switched into a new window right on time. Percival came back with a plastic cup in his hand and sat down with a groan, tilting his neck and rolling his shoulders.  
  
"How long was the train ride?" Elena asked.  
  
"Four hours," he said. "But there was a two hour stay in Essetir, so with the getting to the stations and switching trains it was about seven hours in total."  
  
"Jesus. Were you able to take a walk around at least?"  
  
"At Essetir? Just grabbed something to eat, then went back in the train."  
  
Elena nodded. "How is your family? If you don't mind me asking."  
  
"They're okay, thank you. I mean, my uncle hasn't gotten better, but he's not getting any worse, either."  
  
"That's something, I guess," Elena offered.  
  
Percival nodded. He reached into his pocket, probably to get his phone—and text Mordred—and Elena definitely did not want that to happen, so she glanced at her bookmarks and blurted out, "Have you ever seen baby bats?"  
  
"Um," Percy said. "No?"  
  
Elena grinned, glad to have caught his attention. She loaded up the video and turned her laptop to him. She noticed the small sigh he let out and she felt guilty; she knew he was too tired to actually care, yet too nice to do anything but humour her. It turned out to be worth it, though. In just a moment the cup he'd raised to take a sip from froze in the air as he looked at the screen, then let out a tiny little _Oh_ and a delighted laughter at what he was seeing.  
  
"How could you do this to me, Lena," he accused weakly. "My everything wants to react to this, but that same everything is way too exhausted."  
  
"God, you _are_ turning into Mordred." She shook her head. Before he could reply, the bell on the door rang again, and in came Gwen, followed by Arthur and Gwaine.  
  
"Hey!" Gwen greeted with glee as she noticed Percival. "You're back early!"  
  
"Yeah." Percival chuckled and rose to greet her. He held her hand in both of his own as he kissed her cheek, and when she moved to hug Elena he did the same with Arthur.  
  
He seemed to realise what he had done the second after it happened. There was a long moment where he was still holding Arthur’s hand and they were both staring at each other in silence before Percy tilted his head to the side and let out a tortured, "I am very, very tired."  
  
Arthur let out a laugh before he moved in closer again and said, "No worries," and kissed Percy’s other cheek.  
  
Percy chuckled, then raised his eyebrows when Gwaine came up to him and placed his hands on Percy’s cheeks.  
  
"You knew this was coming," Gwaine said seriously.  
  
"Sooner or later." Percival nodded.  
  
Gwaine grinned and smacked a loud kiss on Percy’s lips, then patted his shoulders and laughed as he went to sit.  
  
Elena kept an eye on Percival as Arthur leaned in closer to start a conversation. She carefully took back her laptop and opened the chat window.  
  
Mordred was offline, which meant—  
  
The bell rang again as the door opened to let in a very disgruntled Mordred. He slowly made his way over until he noticed who was sitting in his spot.  
  
Percy seemed to notice him at the same time. His face brightened up, layers of tiredness peeling off to leave the joy of seeing Mordred—and the worry.  
  
He got up and went to Mordred, carefully wrapping his arms around him before Mordred huffed and squeezed him close.  
  
"I hate you," he grunted. "And you, too." He pointed at Elena behind Percival’s back.  
  
Elena grinned, then when she saw the others' confusion, she explained: "Mordred is in a lot of pain but Percy wanted to see him, so I kind of made him come down."  
  
"Oh," Gwen said. "Why are you in pain?"  
  
Mordred made a face and placed a hand on his belly.  
  
"Oh, honey," Gwen groaned in sympathy, then swatted at Elena's shoulder. "Why did you make him come down?"  
  
Elena just gestured towards Mordred and Percival, who were still holding each other, and shrugged.  
  
"Do you wanna sit?" Percival nodded towards the spot.  
  
Mordred frowned as he appraised the light padding. "The one time you're letting me have it I can't do it." He leaned his head on Percival's chest.  
  
"Why not?" Percy asked.  
  
Mordred looked up at him. "Baby, I don't think you know what having a period entails."  
  
"No, I know that." Percival blushed lightly, but whether it was because of the topic or Mordred calling him _baby_ , Elena didn’t know. "What if we put something on top of it? Something dark?"  
  
Mordred seemed to consider it for a moment before he shook his head. "I don't wanna risk it."  
  
"What if we... " Percy started, then leaned in so that only Mordred could hear him. Mordred looked at him like he was ready to laugh it off at first, but then considered what Percy had suggested. He nodded reluctantly in the end and Percy sprung into action.  
  
He reached in his backpack to look for something.  
  
"Wait, why is this here?" Mordred frowned. "Did you just get off the train?"  
  
"Pretty much," Percival said without turning around.  
  
Mordred bit his lip. "Then what are you doing here?"  
  
Percival let out a noncommittal noise and Mordred sighed. He waited for Percy to settle in the spot before he turned to everyone else. "Don't laugh," he said and pointed a finger at them.  
  
Everyone quietly watched as Percy folded a piece of black fabric—an apron?—over his lap, then motioned Mordred closer. Mordred fixed the placement of the fabric, then carefully settled down, trying not to shift it. He toed his shoes off and tried to fold himself on top of Percy and lean into his embrace at the same time.  
  
"That's quite a risky game, if you ask me," Elena said.  
  
Mordred groaned. "Fuck it," he said and stretched his legs on the sofa, snuggling up to Percival properly. "Whatever happens, remember you suggested this."  
  
"I'll remember." Percival laughed and held him closer. Mordred hissed and and Percival started, but Mordred patted his arm to show him it was okay. "Do you need anything?" he murmured, placing his cheek against Mordred’s forehead.  
  
"Maybe you should kiss him, too," Gwaine chimed in. "What?" he asked when everyone turned to him. "I had a headache when I came in here, now it's gone."  
  
There were a few seconds of silence. "You kissed Gwaine?" Mordred asked quietly.  
  
Silence rang again, before Gwaine decided to speak up. "In his defence, I kinda kissed him. I don't think he minded, but if that was the case—"  
  
"It's fine, Gwaine," Percy said. He leaned in to whisper something to Mordred and Mordred chuckled, but his expression was pained when he looked up at Percy.  
  
"It's not that," he assured him, then gasped and screwed his eyes shut as he tensed up.  
  
Percival looked at him helplessly. "I don't have any painkillers."  
  
"Already took some." Mordred smiled up at him. "Takes a while for them to kick in, if they do at all."  
  
Percy just kept looking at him with worry. Mordred chuckled and reached to place a small kiss at Percy’s jaw. When he saw it made Percy smile and relax a bit, he pulled him closer and kissed the corner of his lips. He pressed even closer and ran his lips across Percy’s cheek. Percy let out a questioning hum.  
  
"I like the stubble," Mordred smirked.  
  
Percy smiled and pressed an answering kiss to Mordred’s forehead. "I could fall asleep right now," he mumbled into Mordred’s hair. Mordred hummed and pushed him back into the sofa, then leaned on him and closed his eyes.  
  
Percival looked down at him a while longer with a little smile, then seemed to remember they were not alone. He glanced at Elena and Gwen and blush coloured his cheeks.  
  
"Wanna get something to drink?" Elena asked.  
  
Gwen nodded and quickly got up. "They're so cute, my God," she said when they were out of earshot. "Do you think they're like... A couple now? Or friends with cuddly benefits?"  
  
"I have no idea," Elena admitted. "The latter does sound nice, but Mordred’s pretty cuddly with anyone that's comfortable with it already."  
  
"Yeah, I guess he is," Gwen sighed. "I mean, sorry I'm making their relationship more my business than it actually is. I just..." _Need a distraction_ , Elena supposed, but said nothing when Gwen didn’t finish her sentence.  
  
"How's work?" she asked instead when Gwen placed her order.  
  
"It's great," Gwen smiled thankfully. "This week's assignment was on pets, all the drawings were adorable."  
  
“I’ll bet,” Elena replied. “I kind of miss my kids already. Just a little bit.”  
  
Gwen laughed. “Not enough to volunteer more hours?”  
  
“Not for now, at least. I need a while to clear my head.”  
  
Gwen frowned. “Everything okay?”  
  
“Yeah,” Elena replied. She wasn’t used to hearing the question aimed at her. “I worry about things too much sometimes, I guess.”  
  
“You really do,” Gwen said seriously. Elena took a longer look at her and realised Gwen didn’t look all that tired, after all.  
  
“I just got used to work, so now that I’m free my mind is latching on to the wrong things to keep busy with.”  
  
“You know, you should really read those _Fortunes_ books,” Gwaine said and picked up her coffee. “Lance finally convinced me to read along with him cause Mordred wouldn’t leave him alone. They’re actually quite interesting.”  
  
“I might give them a try,” Elena said. She didn’t give in to the urge to ask whether Gwen was really close with Lance. “Percy, do you know when Merlin’s coming back?” she asked as they sat down.  
  
“Sunday, I think,” he replied.  
  
“Yeah, I’m picking him up from the train station,” Gwen confirmed.  
  
Elena nodded and swallowed down another barrage of questions.  
  
There was a lull in the conversation until Gwaine asked, “What are we doing for New Year’s?”  
  
“Shit, is it the first tomorrow?” Mordred raised his head.  
  
“Indeed, it is,” Gwaine replied. “Have you got any places in mind?”  
  
“I did hear both the Betties are gonna be with their families,” Elena said.  
  
“What, really?” Mordred grinned. “That would be perfect!”  
  
“I’ll snoop around and let you know,” Elena said.  
  
“Great,” Gwaine said. “That was a much shorter conversation than I anticipated.” Arthur laughed and changed the subject.  
  
“What time should we come over tomorrow?” Percy asked Mordred.  
  
Mordred shrugged. “I thought you and Viv could come earlier so we can watch something beforehand.”  
  
“Sounds good,” Percy said. He didn’t sound too keen. Mordred looked at Elena, but she shrugged lightly. _We’ll see._  
  
xxx

There wasn’t much to see.  
  
Vivian stared at Percy for about five seconds before she rushed at him and wrapped her arms around him. He laughed, clearly relieved, and hugged her back. They didn’t say anything, but Elena was glad they had indeed made up.  
  
"I'll go make some popcorn," Percy said and went into the kitchen as they set up the living room.  
  
Mordred watched him go, then turned around and frowned. "What?" he asked. Elena turned to Vivian to see a smirk on her face.  
  
"You were staring," Vivian said.  
  
Mordred rolled his eyes and sat down. Vivian sat next to him on the sofa, and Elena took the armchair to the left of them.  
  
"I wasn't." He hesitated, then leaned in towards them and they followed suit. “I think…” He started, then shook his head moved away from Vivian.  
  
Elena half-expected Vivian to tease him, but instead she said, "He looks nice tonight."  
  
Mordred looked up to her and tilted his head to the side. "You should tell him that."  
  
"I think _you_ should tell him," Elena replied and Vivian nodded in agreement.  
  
Mordred shrugged, unconvinced, and moved back to his spot. When Percy returned he passed one of the bowls to Vivian and settled down. He raised the blanket left for him and looked at Mordred; a silent invitation that he took up on immediately. Percy smiled as Mordred moved closer, then raised his eyebrows when Mordred's hand settled on his chest.  
  
"Looks good on you," Mordred murmured and gave Percy a small smile. Percy let out a chuckle, embarrassed, and he and Mordred gazed at each other for so long that Elena couldn't help but break the moment and start the DVD.  
  
There was a bit of shuffling when Percy wrapped an arm around Mordred's shoulders and everyone settled down. Next to her, Vivian was typing on her phone and it took Elena a minute to realise that she was strategically tilting her phone to the side just so Elena could see her screen.  
  
**PERCY WANTED TO KISS HIM SO HARD WHAT THE FUCK**  
  
Elena stifled a chuckle and said, "Viv, can I have your phone for a second?"  
  
Vivian made a noise and took her time deleting the message before she handed it to her.  
  
_watch the show and mind ur own business !!!_  
  
She didn't need to see look at Vivian to know she’d roll her eyes when she read the message.  
  
**you're just as invested in this as i am don't pretend**  
  
Before Elena could reply, Vivian caught her arm and pulled her closer. Elena laughed and moved until she was squeezed between Vivian and the arm rest. She leaned on Vivian’s shoulder.  
  
"You smell very nice," Elena whispered.  
  
Vivian hummed in agreement. "Strawberries."

xxx

The rest of December flew right past them. Mordred had managed to conveniently bump into some family members and confirm that they really wouldn’t have any neighbours around, and it didn’t take long to convince everyone their flat was the best place to celebrate. Vivian was the only one who backed out of the party.  
  
“Gonna stay at my dad’s,” she called to say. “It’s just gonna be people from work, but I wanna spend some time with him. Sorry.”  
  
“No, don’t worry about it,” Elena assured her. “Hope you have fun!”  
  
“You, too. Take a lot of pictures, alright?”  
  
“Will do. See you next year?”  
  
“Yep! Bye, Elle. Love you.”  
  
Elena smiled. “Love you, too.”  
  
xxx

“I think I need to lie down,” Merlin groaned and pressed a hand to his forehead.  
  
“Something wrong?” Elena asked him.  
  
He let out a bitter laughter, but then shook his head. “Don’t worry about it,” he said. “I just need to go somewhere quiet for a couple of minutes.”  
  
“I think someone snuck into my room, wanna see if Mordred’s is free?”  
  
“Sure.”  
  
She glanced at the clock on the wall. “You’re gonna miss the countdown, though.”  
  
“Don’t really mind,” Merlin said and let her support him as they made their way through the litter of pillows and glasses on the floor. The fact that Gwaine was the only living soul left in the room once they left should have been enough of a sign that Mordred’s room would be occupied.  
  
Elena stood at the door frame with the handle still in her hand, staring at Lancelot, who was sprawled on Mordred’s bed with his head in Gwen’s lap and legs across Arthur’s. The smile was still frozen on his face, although his eyes had turned a bit vacant. Gwen didn’t hold any particular expression as she followed for Elena’s reaction, and Arthur turned a bit pale as his hand slipped from Lancelot’s knee.  
  
Elena had no idea what to say. Thankfully, Merlin came to her rescue. “For fuck’s sake,” he groaned. Everyone turned to him. “Is that why you’ve been sneaking around?” he asked Arthur.  
  
“Yeah,” Arthur said quietly. He looked at Elena and she just nodded. They could talk later.  
  
“You’ve had me worried sick,” Merlin accused.  
  
Arthur’s eyes widened as he exchanged a look with Gwen. “Are you fucking serious? You—”  
  
“It’s almost midnight,” Elena interrupted. “Do you mind moving the cuddle pile somewhere else so Merlin has a place to sleep?”  
  
Arthur gritted his teeth, but he said nothing else as Lance slowly got up. “Wait for me in the hallway,” Elena told them before she helped Merlin get into bed. “I’ll bring you some water in a bit,” she said, brushing hair away from his forehead.  
  
“Thanks.” He sighed. “Elle?” he inquired before she could leave.  
  
“Yeah?” She sat at the edge of the bed.  
  
“Has everyone… Noticed? That I’m not okay?”  
  
She hesitated. “Yeah. It’s been kind of scary. Seeing you like this.”  
  
“That bad?” he asked quietly. She put a hand on his shoulder over the blanket and he sighed again. “It’s not something dangerous, I promise. It’s… Family stuff.”  
  
“Anything we can help with?”  
  
“No. That’s one of the reasons I don’t wanna talk about it, like… There’s nothing anyone can do,” he said, voice rough. He covered half his face with the blanket and Elena saw him shake with the sobs he didn’t wanna let out.  
  
“Would you like me to leave you alone?”  
  
“Please,” he mumbled. “And please tell Ar… Everyone. I can’t talk about what’s going on, but I’ll be fine.”  
  
“I will,” she said quietly and walked out. She took a deep breath and turned to Gwen and Lance first. “Has Gwaine been weird around you two?”  
  
“Yeah, actually,” Gwen said. “Nothing too off-putting, just… He was a little cold?”  
  
Lance nodded. “We were getting along well, but then he didn’t really wanna hang out anymore.”  
  
Elena nodded. “He saw you two kiss and thought you were going behind Arthur’s back.”  
  
Gwen’s eyes widened. “We wouldn’t! You didn’t think that—”  
  
“I didn’t know what to think,” Elena said. “But I knew it wasn’t any of my business.”  
  
“I knew from the start,” Arthur assured her. “Everything just… Sort of happened.”  
  
Elena smiled. “You don’t really owe me an explanation. I’m just glad everything’s alright between you.”  
  
“It’s more than alright,” Gwen said. Arthur and Lance nodded.  
  
“Good,” Elena said. “Now that that mystery is solved… Merlin just told me he’s working through some family issues. It can’t be helped, so he didn’t really wanna tell us about it.”  
  
“Do you think his mum’s okay?” Gwen asked.  
  
Elena shook her head. “He’ll tell us when he’s ready, yeah?”  
  
“Yeah.”  
  
There was a loud bang followed by crackling coming from the outside. The door to Elena’s room slammed open and Elyan and Mithian ran right past them.  
  
“It’s time!”  
  
Gwen and Lance laughed and followed them into the living room. Arthur took a gentle hold of Elena’s arm and she turned to him.  
  
“That’s what I wanted to tell you,” he explained quietly.  
  
Elena nodded. “I figured. I mean, at first I thought you knew about him and Gwen, but… I get it now.”  
  
Arthur gave her a little smile. “I didn’t know what to do. I just fell so fast,” he whispered. “Thank fuck Gwen felt the same.”  
  
Elena hugged him. “Come on,” she said and led him away.  
  
Everyone was huddled up on the balcony.  
  
“Happy new year!” Mordred shouted at her with a bright smile.  
  
“Happy, happy,” Elena wished him, but he was already distracted by Percy who pulled him back into his chest and leaned in to kiss his his cheek. Mordred grinned and turned around to press a kiss to his lips that lasted way longer than the peck Elena had expected to see.  
  
She turned her gaze to the fireworks illuminating the night’s sky, trying not to think about how much she wished Vivian was next to her.

xxx

  
The first morning of the new year found her with her face planted in a pillow and body sprawled across their living room’s floor. With great effort she turned to her back, then rose to her elbows. Percy was still asleep on the sofa, lying on his side with one of his arms stretched to the half where Elena knew Mordred had fallen asleep. She got up and stretched before she dragged her feet to the kitchen.  
  
Mordred looked at her over his shoulder and smiled. “Good morning.”  
  
“Mm-hmm. What’re you doing?”  
  
“Washing dishes.” He shrugged. “Woke up too early and couldn’t fall back asleep.”  
  
Elena leaned on the counter and just watched him for a while, waiting until she was a little more awake to start a conversation. A couple of minutes later the door opened to let Percy in.  
  
"Hey," Mordred said. He dried his hands and went to him. "Did I wake you?"  
  
"I don't think so," Percy replied. He took a breath, but gave up on whatever he wanted to say and looked around instead. Elena was about to leave and give them some space, but then he spoke again. "I should go."  
  
Mordred took a step back. “Right.”  
  
"Wanna have breakfast with us?" Elena asked and waited for Mordred to put some weight on the invitation.  
  
Percy looked at Mordred, probably expecting the same, but Mordred didn't say anything.  
  
"No," Percy replied. His smile seemed a little tight when he turned to Elena. "But thank you."  
  
She shrugged, but when Percy left and Mordred didn’t see him out she asked, "What happened between you two?"

Mordred turned to her, but his expression remained distant. Empty.  
  
"I think I'm gonna skip breakfast today," he said instead of answering her question. He headed out of the kitchen. Elena reached for him, but he pulled out of her grasp. "Leave me," he said, voice rough.  
  
She had a biting reply on the tip of her tongue, but she swallowed it down. She waited a minute and went to her room, resisting the urge to slam the door when she saw Merlin was still in her bed and Gwaine—in her armchair. She got her clothes as quietly as possible and went to change in the bathroom.  
  
She debated texting someone, but she realised the majority of her friends had probably just gone to sleep after a long night. It had been long for them, at least—even if their celebration was more a chill get-together than a wild party, they were bound to be hungover where Elena was just sleepy.  
  
When she walked out of the bathroom, she looked at the door to Mordred's and sighed.  
  
She gave it a knock. "Mordred?"  
  
"Just go." The reply was muffled and broken. "Please."  
  
She barely refrained from pressing the handle and barging in to aggressively comfort him. "Alright. I've got my phone and computer with me, let me know if you need anything, yeah? Mordred?"  
  
"Fine," he replied. Elena waited another second before she left and locked the door behind her.  
  
On her way to The Smuggler the concern for Mordred got replaced by another one: would the café even be open on the very first day of the new year? She considered her options for spending some time away from the flat and give Mordred space—and the others more time to sleep—but in the end it turned out that wasn't necessary. She pushed the door open and smiled brightly when she saw the shop was empty save for Isolde wiping one of the tables.  
  
"Good Morning!" Elena greeted. "You working today?"  
  
"Of course." Isolde smiled. "Someone has to feed all the kids that spent all night partying. Happy new year, by the way," she said and nodded towards their table to show it was available.  
  
"Happy, happy," Elena replied and sat down.  
  
"Did you manage to get any sleep last night?" Isolde asked and handed her a menu.  
  
"A couple of hours." Elena smiled. "You?"  
  
"None," Isolde made a face. She made to continue, but Elena cut her off.  
  
"No way." Isolde raised her eyebrows and Elena said, "I'm sorry, just... every time I pull an all-nighter I feel like death, and you look fantastic."  
  
Isolde laughed. "Thank you! But yeah, we had some friends over. Tristan is still passed out. Did you have a good time?"  
  
Elena thought about Mordred upstairs. "Yeah."  
  
"Good," Isolde said and went away.  
  
xxx

Some time later, Elena risked knocking on his door again.  
  
“I’ve got muffins,” she said.  
  
“Come in.”  
  
Mordred sat up in his bed until he was leaning on the wall. He pulled the blanket away and set up a pillow so Elena could sit next to him.  
  
“Honey, what happened?” she asked softly and set the paper bag aside.  
  
“I don’t know,” Mordred whispered and his already tired eyes filled with tears again.  
  
“Did you talk last night?”  
  
“No! It was so weird.” He sniffed. “I’ve wanted to be like that with him for so long… He just held me the entire time. And even before twelve, he… He kissed me as if it were the most natural thing in the world. As if we’d done it a thousand times already. As if he…” Mordred sobbed and Elena held onto his hand until he calmed down. “It’s so stupid,” he cried. “We went to bed and I imagined waking up next to him and…” He put his free hand over his chest and bit on his lip. “Now he doesn’t even wanna talk to me.”  
  
“Was he drunk?”  
  
Mordred shook his head. “We didn’t have anything last night. I wanted to keep an eye on Merlin. He says thanks, by the way. For the bed.” Elena nodded. “I don’t know what I did wrong.”  
  
“Maybe he just needs to take it slow.”  
  
Mordred shrugged. “He seemed so cold this morning. He’s never looked at me like that before. He looked… Repulsed, Elle.”  
  
“It didn’t look like that from where I was standing,” Elena tried to assure him. Mordred looked at her with hope in his eyes. “He seemed a bit… Disappointed. I think he wanted to hear you say you wanted to spend more time together.”  
  
“But he’d already said he wanted to go home!” Mordred said, desperate. “I don’t wanna pressure him into spending time with me if he doesn’t want me anymore.”  
  
Elena shook her head. “I think he was just confused. He went to sleep next to you and woke up all alone. Maybe he thought it was you who needed space.”  
  
Mordred was silent for a moment. “I want to be with him,” he said quietly. “I’m so… I don’t want him to hate me.”  
  
“He doesn’t hate you,” Elena said firmly. “You’re just thinking the worst because it’s your first fight. Give him a day to sort it out.”  
  
“Alright.”  
  
xxx

A week later no one had heard from Percy yet, and Mordred definitely wasn’t alright. Elena’s gaze skipped from him to Merlin on the sofa opposite her. She couldn’t decide which looked more tortured.  
  
“What did I miss?” Vivian whispered to her. She’d had to go to work immediately after the holidays and had just then found the time to get to The Smuggler.  
  
“Let’s see,” Elena whispered back. “Arthur, Gwen and Lance are all together and no one is cheating on anyone, thank fuck. Merlin is going through a family crisis that doesn’t seem to be getting better. Mordred and Percy were together for like two seconds before _something_ happened and Percy went MIA. Elyan—who may or may not have done the do with Mithian in my bed—said he’s just locked himself in his room, working, but no one really knows. Reports say Lancelot brings him food three times a day and while the containers go in, they never go out, so Percy’s living conditions are questionable at best at this moment. What else… Oh yeah, Gwaine drooled on my arm chair so I’m still grossed out and can’t use it for some reason.” She shrugged. “Not so serious an issue but I felt like I had to mention.”  
  
Vivian chuckled, but her eyes were wild with worry. She looked at Mordred. “Any news, honey?” she asked.  
  
“None,” Mordred said without looking up from his phone.  
  
“No offence,” Merlin started. "But have you considered... Taking a hint?"  
  
Elena imagined she'd have kicked him if she was sitting next to him, but Mordred just gave him a cold look. He looked down at his phone again as he replied, "Have you considered minding your own business?"  
  
Merlin frowned. "I was just—"  
  
"Oh, I know," Mordred cut him off. "I know that if I ever disappeared you wouldn't care, but the difference here is that I actually love Percy."  
  
Elena's jaw dropped as she exchanged a look with Vivian.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Merlin asked.  
  
"It means that some of us are able to see people as _people_ and not just competition," Mordred replied. "Oh, don't worry," he said when he saw Merlin was about to get up. "I can leave. Maybe you'll be able to make some friends if I'm not here to attract all the attention." He dropped his phone in his purse and left without looking back.  
  
Elena looked at Vivian, then at Merlin, whose jaw was clenched as if he was trying to break a diamond in two. "Merlin?" Vivian asked carefully. She flinched when he turned her cold stare to her; the reaction seemed to snap him out of it, though, and he looked more regretful than anything.  
  
"I'm gonna _kill_ Gwaine," he grunted in the end and covered his face with his hands.  
  
"Gwaine?" Elena deemed it safe to move closer to Merlin. She and Vivian sat at his sides.  
  
"It was just an offhand comment," Merlin said, miserable. "I was drunk, for fuck’s sake. I was telling him about when I liked Arthur, or someone else—it was funny, actually, how they always seemed to get along better with Mordred. I mean, he's known Arthur longer than I have, and maybe I envied their relationship a bit? But I never meant to blame him. He was so cold to me lately, I should have realised..."  
  
Elena was silent for a moment. It’d been a while since she’d heard Merlin speak more than two sentences at a time. His rambling was oddly comforting, even if the subject wasn’t pleasant. "I think he's just worried about Percy," Elena said and rubbed Merlin's back. "But— _take a hint_? Really?"  
  
"What?" Merlin asked defensively.  
  
"Where have you been?" Vivian frowned at her own question. "They love each other. Percy wouldn't do that to him."  
  
Merlin frowned. "Are they together?"  
  
"Well... I don't know. But they're close."  
  
Merlin sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I've just... Got a lot on my mind.” _No shit._ “I... I have to go apologise." He got up.  
  
"I don't think he'll want to see you," Elena warned.  
  
"I have to try. I'll just check if he's in your flat, if he isn't I'll wait to bump into him or I'll call him tonight."  
  
"Good luck," Vivian said and leaned back when he was gone. She sighed. "You know, I said I liked gossiping, but this is entirely too much.”  
  
"I know." Elena smiled and sat closer to her. "How is your year so far?"  
  
Vivian scrunched up her face. "Busy. I couldn't really rest during the holidays, so now it feels even worse with everyone rushing to catch up." She pouted. "I just wanted a week where I don't have to do anything. Recharge. No such luck."  
  
"Aw, come here," Elena said and opened her arms. Vivian scooched over and let Elena embrace her. They were quiet for a moment.  
  
Vivian took a deep breath. "I wasn't at my dad's on New Years'."  
  
"Oh?" Elena inquired. "Where were you?"  
  
"Sophia's."  
  
Elena pulled back and waited until Vivian looked up at her. "Was there a party, or?"  
  
It took Vivian a moment to reply. "No. It was just us." She swallowed. "We've been on and off for a couple of months. Ever since we broke up, honestly."  
  
"How do you feel about it?" Elena asked carefully. Her heart ached when Vivian's eyes watered and she shook her head in reply. Elena pulled her close again and carded her fingers through Vivian's hair.  
  
"I thought she loved me," Vivian said quietly. "But now I realise she never did. I mean, that's not her fault, but... She knew how much she meant to me. It took her months to admit it wasn't quite working for her."  
  
“I’m sorry,” Elena said and kissed Vivian’s forehead. "Don't go to her next time she calls.  
  
Vivian made a funny noise. "Easier said than done."  
  
"I know," Elena said. "Just... Try. Come to us instead. Mordred and I are always up for a sleepover."  
  
Vivian laughed. "I think he has enough to deal with already.”  
  
"Well, I’ll be there, yeah?"  
  
Vivian smiled up at her. "Yeah."  
  
xxx

When Elena got home, she was surprised to find Mordred and Merlin sitting together and speaking calmly.  
  
“Hey,” Merlin greeted. He still looked tired, and they both looked like they’d been crying, but it seemed like the worst had passed.  
  
“Hi,” Elena said. “You guys made up?”  
  
“Yeah,” Mordred said. “We just needed to talk about… Everything.”  
  
Merlin nodded. “I’ve been here long enough, actually. I have to get home.”  
  
“Are you gonna tell Arthur?” Mordred asked.  
  
“I think so.” Merlin chuckled. “I think I cried as much as I could today. Repeating it should be easier.”  
  
Mordred smiled at him, but it turned into a grimace not a moment after.  
  
“Mordred?”  
  
Mordred frantically looked around. He reached for the paper bag on the table, flipped it so that all the pastries could fall out, then brought the bag to his face and started throwing up into it.  
  
Merlin moved closer and rubbed his back, waiting for it to pass so that Mordred could tell him what was wrong.  
  
“I’m sorry,” was the first thing Mordred said when he had his breath back. “I— _fuck_ ,” he cried and doubled over, his hand clutching his side.  
  
“It’s his kidneys,” Merlin said urgently. “We have to go to the hospital.”  
  
“No,” Mordred said at once.  
  
“ _Yes,_ ” Merlin insisted. “It could be just a stone you’re passing, but we need to know for sure.” Mordred sobbed. “It’s not scary. They could just do an injection to relieve the pain.”  
  
“That’s not why…” Mordred started, but then he reached for the bag again.  
  
Elena hesitated. She knew how going to the hospital and having to deal with doctors misgendering him affected Mordred. “Should I call for an ambulance?” she asked in the end.  
  
“No,” Mordred choked out. “Arthur.”  
  
“He’s got a car,” Merlin said, getting his phone out faster than Elena. “Arthur, we need to get Mordred to the hospital. It doesn’t matter, can you come pick us up? Yes. Yes. Perfect,” he said and hung up. “He’ll be right over. Get him some warm clothes,” Merlin said and Elena all but ran to Mordred’s room, glad she could be useful. When she came back, Merlin was gently taking a glass of water from Mordred’s hand so he could set it on the table for him.  
  
“I’m gonna need another bag,” Mordred said. “Or a bin, or something.”  
  
Elena went to her room this time and removed the bag from the little bin she kept next to her desk.  
  
“It should do the job,” she said and set it next to the sofa.  
  
“Thanks,” Mordred said. He looked very pale as Merlin helped him put on a sweater.  
  
“Does it hurt a lot?” Elena asked.  
  
“Like I’m being stabbed. Repeatedly.” He tried to chuckle.  
  
“Come on,” Merlin said and helped him up. “We need to get downstairs.”  
  
“Do you want me to come with?” Elena asked.  
  
“No,” Mordred said. “And I just want Arthur in the hospital,” he continued, looking at Merlin.  
  
“That’s fine,” Merlin replied. “I just wanna make sure you get there.”  
  
Elena watched them put their jackets on and handed Merlin the bin.  
  
“Tell Arthur to call me later.”  
  
“Will do,” Merlin said and they went out.  
  
Elena disposed of the paper bag, then sat on the sofa, wondering what to do with herself. She took her phone and went through her contacts. Her finger hovered over Percy’s name for a moment before she changed her mind and scrolled down to Vivian’s.  
  
_I know we already saw each other today, but can you stay over tonight?_  
**I’ll be there**

xxx

“What’s up?”  
  
Elena smiled and let Vivian in. “Mordred’s staying over at Arthur and Merlin’s, and I didn’t wanna be alone,” she lied. Arthur had just called to tell her they’d keep Mordred overnight just in case and she wasn’t sure whether Mordred would want anyone to know what had happened. “Thought we might binge on a show or two.”  
  
“Not a reality one, I hope,” Vivian joked.  
  
Elena chuckled. “Did you end up watching it?”  
  
“Yeah,” Vivian said. “Percy said it was okay. And that I could tell you what happened if you cared, but no one else.”  
  
Elena hesitated. They set the pillows on the sofa as they found comfortable and sat down. “Sure, I guess?”  
  
Vivian bit on her lip. “It doesn’t seem like anything terrible, but it’s all edited, of course. He… Percy and this other guy, they used to be best friends or something? And the guy had promised he wouldn’t even enter the show because he knew Percy needed the money. He did, anyway, and they made up for a while during the show, but then the guy screwed Percy over and went on to win. They didn’t show Percy in a bad light or anything, but he told me he took it pretty hard.”  
  
“That sucks,” Elena said. “What was that douchebag’s name?”  
  
“Cenred something.” Vivian shrugged.  
  
Elena raised her eyebrows. “ _Cenred?_ ”  
  
“What, you know him?”  
  
“Of course I know him! He’s the chef at Theo’s. We go there whenever Aredian—” She stopped herself and looked away, biting on her lips.  
  
Vivian tugged on her sleeve. “Aredian _Sexton_? Do you know _him_?”  
  
“Nope,” Elena lied. “He just visits sometimes, to see how his former contestant is doing. It’s a big deal, so the place is always packed, but we’ve managed to get in a couple of times.”  
  
“Right.” Vivian looked like she didn’t believe her at all, but she let it go.  
  
Until they were a couple of episodes in and she suddenly turned to Elena again. “What is Mordred’s last name?”  
  
Elena shrugged. “It’s a mystery.”  
  
Vivian laughed. “I know it starts with S, that much it says on his social media.”  
  
“Maybe it stands for Secret.”  
  
“Or maybe it stands for Sexton,” Vivian supposed.  
  
Elena took a deep breath. “Maybe,” she said carefully. “But I didn’t tell you _shit_.”  
  
“Of course you didn’t,” Vivian agreed. “I figured it out myself. But holy _fuck._ ”  
  
Elena laughed. “I know, it’s kinda weird.”  
  
“Kinda! Does Mordred not watch his show?”  
  
“Nope. It’s kind of complicated between them. They just meet up a couple of times a year, Aredian sends him with more money Mordred could ever spend, and they’re happy.”  
  
“Is that why Mordred doesn’t work?”  
  
Elena hesitated. “Yes and no. He does freelance writing sometimes and does want to work around people more, but he hasn’t had much luck when it comes to jobs.”  
  
“What do you mean?”  
  
“Not every place is as friendly as The Smuggler.”  
  
Vivian was silent for a moment. “Right,” she said in the end. “Did Aredian help with The Smuggler’s renovations?”  
  
“Yeah.” Elena smiled. “He is kind of famous for his donations, but only because Mordred helps him pick most of the causes and people that could use the help.”  
  
“Man, that’s a lot more good that most people would do if they had a rich uncle.”  
  
“Grandpa,” Elena corrected. “But yeah. And that’s enough. He wouldn’t really appreciate us talking about this, and I really need to go pee.” She pressed the pause button and headed for the bathroom.  
  
When she came out, she heard voices in the hallway. She went to see Percy standing in the doorway.  
  
"Oh, hello!" Elena greeted. Percy just nodded in response, an unusual tiredness set on his face. Elena glanced at Vivian, who looked a little lost.  
  
"He wanted to see Mordred, but I told him he should stay with us, anyway," Vivian explained. She took Percy’s bag from his hands and set it aside before he could protest.  
  
"Did you talk to him?" Elena asked.  
  
"No," Percy replied, voice hollow. "But I was hoping that he—and you—would let me stay over."  
  
"But of course," Elena said and walked to him, then took his hand and pulled him into the living room. He sat down on the sofa next to her, but he didn't look comfortable; he was still tense and couldn't quite meet her gaze.  
  
"Did you have a fight with Lance and Elyan?" Vivian asked, sitting at his other side.  
  
"No," he said. "You know, I shouldn’t have—" He made to get up, but both Elena and Vivian clutched at his arms.  
  
"Please," Elena said. "We don’t need to talk about it if you're not comfortable."  
  
Percy stared at nothing for a while, his jaw clenched. He took a deep breath and Elena let him go when he covered his face with a hand.  
  
"I need to talk about it," he said quietly. Elena exchanged a glance with Vivian. _What do we do?_ Before she could say anything, Percy spoke again. "I shouldn’t have come here."  
  
He made no move to get up, so Vivian asked: "Why did you?"  
  
Percy was silent for a moment. "I was scared."  
  
"Of what?" Vivian asked carefully, rubbing his back.  
  
Percy let his hand fall to his knee and stared at it blankly. "That I'd do something stupid."  
  
Elena wasn't sure she understood, but Percy’s words sent a chill down her spine.  
  
"I shouldn’t have come here," he said again." It's good that Mordred isn't home. I thought he could help me... I can't ask it of him. He's the only one that doesn't know. I don't want him to know."  
  
Elena glanced at Vivian again and asked, "Is it something that he should know, though?"  
  
"Not necessarily. But it would probably help him understand why I'm such an asshole."  
  
"Mordred doesn't think you're an asshole," Vivian said.  
  
"You're one of his best friends," Elena supplied, but Percy just shook his head.  
  
"He deserves better."  
  
They were silent for a moment.  
  
"Why would you say that?" Vivian asked.  
  
He sighed. "Because it's true. He's got all of you. He doesn't need someone who's too depressed to even get out of bed most days. Someone who can't even answer his calls because he can't explain what's wrong with him. I'm a fucking burden, Viv. But he kept calling me. Why didn't he stop calling me?" he cried, then buried his face in his hands again.  
  
"Because he cares about you," Elena whispered, feeling her voice would break if she dared use it. "We all do, Percy. We didn't know."  
  
"I didn't want you to," he said quietly. "Lance, he… He’s the only one who knows, besides my sister. It's not like he doesn't care, he just. I tried to make a joke of it once and we haven’t really talked about it since then. I thought I could pretend in front of you, be a normal fucking person for once, but I can’t. It's too much. It's too fucking much."  
  
"That's why you should have told us," Vivian said, shaking him. Elena would have told her to stop, but then Percy actually turned to Vivian and waited for her to continue. "We've all got our shit, Perce. I've been having the worst time lately and talking to Elle has been the only thing that's been keeping me sane. We're all here for each other, okay? It's just how friends work. No one's gonna think less of you or laugh at you for needing help. I have no idea what's going on inside your head right now, but I'm absolutely certain it's too big for even you to carry alone," she said and rubbed at his shoulders. Percy let out a chuckle.  
  
"Are you seeing a therapist?" Elena asked.  
  
"I used to," Percival said. "But it got too expensive."  
  
"Can we help with that?"  
  
Percy made a face.  
  
"It doesn't have to be for free," Vivian said before he could protest. "We could pay for your art."  
  
"I actually tried that," Percival said. "But I didn’t really get many of the jobs."  
  
"We could all order artwork, or spread the word at least," Elena said. "Would that be alright with you?"  
  
"Maybe," Percival shrugged and finally leaned back. "I don't wanna think about it right now."  
  
"Fair enough," Elena said.  
  
"Is there anything else you'd like to get off your chest?" Vivian asked, gently placing a hand on said chest. Percy raised his eyebrows at her. "What? Mordred said it feels nice," she said with a light caress.  
  
Percy chuckled. "Anything else Mordred said?" he asked.  
  
"That you give really nice hugs." Elena giggled.  
  
Percival looked at her, then disentangled himself from Vivian and got up. He turned to Elena and spread his arms. She laughed and climbed on the sofa, then wrapped her arms around his neck and screwed her eyes shut in content when he squeezed her into his embrace.  
  
"Oh, that really is nice," she admitted. She let go and sat back down, pulling Percy between her and Vivian again. There was a warm smile on his face, but Elena felt her heart drop when it transformed into a worried expression again.  
  
"Did he really say those things? Does he really talk about me?"  
  
"He does," Elena said carefully. "He cares about you very much."  
  
Percival swallowed. "It's just. It's so hard to see why anyone would... Care at all, sometimes. You know?"  
  
"Yeah," Vivian said, voice quiet. Maybe she understood better than Elena did. "But you gotta remember that all those things your brain is telling you are bullshit. You're a fucking teddy bear and you deserve all the love we want to give you, alright?" Percy made a funny noise and swallowed with difficulty, but didn't protest when Vivian reached to wipe the tears from his face. "I'm sure Mordred will tell you the same. He's gonna huff and puff for a bit, angry because you took so long to tell him; then he's gonna kiss your face all over and you’re gonna cuddle forever and ever."  
  
"Did you just spoil real life for me?" Percy asked.  
  
Vivian rolled her eyes and leaned on his shoulder. "You're such a nerd.”  
  
“Said the nerd who helped us go viral.”  
  
“What, really?” Vivian asked.  
  
Percy chuckled. “Yeah, kind of. It happened this week. Someone semi-popular discovered our theory and pronounced us prophets.”  
  
“That’s awesome! It was _your_ theory, though. And Mordred’s idea to make the video.”  
  
“And your voice that had people listening,” Percy insisted.  
  
“Would you just stop giving me credit and accept that you and Mordred were made for each other?"  
  
Percy groaned. "Don't say that," he mumbled. He caught Elena's gaze and blushed when an _Awwww!_ escaped her lips.  
  
"Sorry," Elena said and moved closer. He raised his arm and wrapped it around her shoulders. "So you really like him?"  
  
"I really do," he sighed. “Where is he, anyway?”  
  
“Merlin and Arthur’s,” Vivian replied  
  
“Actually… I didn’t wanna scare you,” Elena told her. “Because it’s not something scary,” she insisted when Percy gave her an alarmed look. “He had to go to the hospital. It’s just a kidney stone, but they wanted to keep an eye on him to make sure everything is alright.”  
  
“When is he getting out?” Percy asked.  
  
“Tomorrow morning, if everything’s okay. And it should be.”  
  
Percy still looked worried.  
  
“Let’s just watch things and get some sleep so we can greet him tomorrow,” Vivian suggested.  
  
Percy sighed. “Sounds like a plan.”

xxx

  
“Should we give you some space?” Elena asked, rubbing her eyes.  
  
Arthur was halfway out the door when Mordred crossed his arms and said, “Stay.”  
  
Percy carefully disentangled himself from the blankets and slid out of the sofa, careful not to hurt her or Vivian. Vivian moved next to Elena once he was gone, snuggling up to her as if she was expecting a bomb to go off. Another look at Mordred told Elena she wasn’t overestimating the situation.  
  
Percy stood up and rubbed his neck. “Maybe it would be better if we move to the kitchen.”  
  
“You know I’m gonna scream if we do,” Mordred said.  
  
“I’d deserve it.”  
  
Mordred sighed. “No, you wouldn’t.”  
  
Percy hesitated before he slowly walked over to Mordred. He raised a hand and gently brushed over Mordred’s cheek with the backs of his fingers. “You look like shit,” he whispered.  
  
That startled a laugh out of Mordred. “You’re the one to fucking talk,” he countered and pulled on the hem of Percy’s tee. His hands settled on Percy’s hips. All the humour was gone from his face when he asked, voice soft, “What happened?”  
  
Percy shook his head. “Later. Wanna get some proper sleep first?  
  
“Wanna keep me warm?” Mordred asked. Vivian sniggered. “What? Doctor’s orders,” he said and let Percy out by his hand. Percy gave Arthur an awkward nod as he walked past him.  
  
Arthur looked at Vivian and Elena, amused. “You guys have something to eat?”  
  
“We will if you make us pancakes,” Elena replied.  
  
Arthur chuckled. “On it.”

xxx

The next couple of months were more peaceful than anything. Elena got a few weeks of work thanks to the flu season, but to her relief no disasters threatened to break their group apart.  
  
Then came Mordred’s birthday.  
  
“What do you mean we can’t have the party here?”  
  
“First of all, it won’t be a party,” Mordred noted and sprawled on her bed. “The Betties aren’t going anywhere, so we’re gonna have to be even quieter than New Year’s.”  
  
“That’s not true, though,” Elena said, folding a shirt. “You get pretty loud when you’re recording. We haven’t had any complaints.”  
  
“Are you implying that a group of like, ten people, won’t get any louder than Viv, Percy and I already are on the regular?”  
  
Elena shrugged. Mordred sighed.  
  
“What’s really the matter?”  
  
“My grandpa wants to meet everyone.”  
  
Elena frowned. “Why?”  
  
“Fuck knows,” Mordred groaned. “I think it’s because of Percy. I made the mistake of mentioning him and he thinks we’re dating now.”  
  
Elena froze. “Did he ask you anything about him?”  
  
“Whether he can cook.” Mordred huffed. “As if he hasn’t been teaching me since I was ten and I need someone else to cook for me.”  
  
She relaxed. “Just blow him off. Tell him you need to see if things work out first.”  
  
“I tried. He insists on treating all of us to a fancy dinner.”  
  
“That’s really nice of him,” Elena said. “We’re all the opposite of fancy, though. Well, except for Viv and Arthur. You four can have the fancy meal, the rest of us will send you the takeout receipts.”  
  
Mordred laughed. “I think I’ll pass. That’s an idea, though,” he mused. “Half of what I made for New Year’s went in the bin ‘cause I have no idea how portioning works, apparently. We can get a bunch of menus and order for everyone.”  
  
“Sounds good,” Elena agreed. “Where are we getting a cake from?”  
  
“Mithian suggested making one for me.”  
  
“That’s awesome! Wanna call your grandpa and see if he’ll relent?”  
  
“Yeah, yeah,” Mordred said and got up.  
  
“It’s gonna go even than better than New Years’, you’ll see.”  
  
Mordred raised an eyebrow. “I sure hope so.”

xxx

If Elena were being honest, Vivian being there alone made it infinitely better.  
  
They were all settled in a way that was almost identical to the way they usually sat at The Smuggler, with the exception that Lance had tactfully left his spot so that “Mordred’s feet can dangle off Percy’s thigh more freely”. Mordred had thrown a fluffy slipper at him at that, but didn’t protest when Percy did pull his legs over his lap and hugged him closer. The rest of them were sitting on cushions around the table so that they could reach the food; while Vivian and Gwaine kept throwing some of it at each other, the others did choose to eat it. Arthur and Lance were sitting close together on the floor next to Gwen’s side of the sofa, and Elyan and Mithian seemed to be the only ones who weren’t content sitting for too long and kept moving around in order to talk to everyone.  
  
“Wait a minute,” Gwaine said suddenly, looking around with suspicion. “Am I a—”he counted everyone present—“tenth wheel here?”  
  
“What do you mean?” Elena asked.  
  
He pointed at everyone in turn with every word. “Couple, couple, whatever the word for three people in a relationship is, and another couple. And there’s me.”  
  
“We’re not a couple,” Mordred said, even if he didn’t sound too convincing wrapped around Percy and swimming in his hoodie.  
  
“Yeah, and neither are we,” Elena said, pointing at herself and Vivian. “We’re both single.”  
  
“Thanks for the reminder, by the way,” Vivian said and got up, taking one of the pitchers to fill it with water.  
  
“And for noticing me,” Merlin added. Elena turned to see he hadn’t even looked away from the TV, his fingers flying over the controller’s buttons in a feeble attempt to stop Elyan from kicking his ass.  
  
“I consider you married to your studies,” Gwaine explained.  
  
“Ah. If only people considered me available, instead.”  
  
“Well, then.” Gwaine grinned. “Consider yourself considered.”  
  
Merlin didn’t reply, but Elena heard him chuckle.  
  
“Come now, Merlin,” Percy said. “You can do better than that.”  
  
“Oi!” Gwaine laughed. “If you can tell me there’s anyone in this room you’d rather get with more, even for a single night—”  
  
What followed was a chorus of _Lancelot_ s, _Arthur_ s and _Gwen_ s, as well as a single Mithian once Merlin relayed the question to Elyan.  
  
Gwaine’s eyes narrowed. “I couldn’t help but notice His Birthday Majesty didn’t answer the question.”  
  
Mordred just smiled, wrapped his hands around Percival’s neck and pressed a tiny kiss at his jaw.  
  
There was laughter from some, but Percival himself raised his eyebrows and leaned back. "He said from all the people in the room," he protested, confused.  
  
Mordred tilted his head to the side. "No offense”—he made a vague gesture towards everyone else—“but you are literally the most attractive person in here."  
  
Arthur raised a finger in mock protest, and Elena laughed, but didn't take her eyes off Percival. He was looking at Mordred with a soft expression and Elena managed to read the quiet _Shut up_ that left Percival’s lips. Mordred just giggled and caressed his cheek.  
  
Elena let out a small laughter again as she thought, _Now kiss_.   
  
And they did.  
  
Happiness bubbled up inside of her as she saw how Mordred was grinning into the kiss, the way Percival was clinging to him. She clapped and laughed loudly, even if she couldn't understand what Gwaine was shouting at the two of them over the noise everyone else was making.  
  
She looked around and winked at Gwen when Gwen grinned at her and sent her an air kiss. She got distracted a second later, though – she saw the door to the kitchen open and close, but nobody walked inside. Elena got up, apologised when she bumped into Mithian on the way, and walked out of the room.  
  
Vivian was leaning on the counter, rubbing her forehead. She looked up when Elena walked in and the smile that made its way on her face was clearly forced.  
  
"Hey," Elena said quietly and went to her. She put her hands on Vivian’s arms and squeezed. "What's wrong?"  
  
Vivian shrugged, then glanced at the door, then shook her head. Elena sighed and took her hands, then wrapped them around herself and pulled Vivian to her chest. Vivian chuckled and hugged her closer, but then she sighed.  
  
"I'm really happy for him," she said, leaning her cheek on Elena’s head.  
  
Elena’s fingers played with the wrinkles of fabric on Vivian’s shoulder. "For them," she corrected.  
  
"For them," Vivian agreed. "It's just..."  
  
Elena waited, but she didn't continue. Elena listened to her breathe for a while, but she didn't seem to relax.  
  
"Tell me," she said softly.  
  
Vivian took a deep breath. "I'm... I'm tired, Elle. I'm so tired. I'm tired of it not working out. I'm tired of being alone. I'm tired... It sounds terrible and I'm sorry, but I'm tired of being happy for other people. Just once, I'd... I want to be happy for myself."  
  
Elena didn’t know what to say. Her arms slid around Vivian’s shoulders and she held on to her, aching as Vivian let out a quiet sob and hugged her tighter.  
  
They stayed like this for a while, and when Vivian finally seemed to calm Elena pulled back to look at her. "I honestly don't know what would help, but... Do you think you should maybe... Stop? For a while?"  
  
"Stop?"  
  
"Yeah, I mean. Stop looking. I know it doesn't sound right, cause you're lonely, and I'm telling you to remain alone, but... You don’t have to be?"  
  
"I'm not sure I follow," Vivian chuckled.  
  
Elena sighed. "I'm telling you that you have me. We can cuddle, and go out together and hold hands, and hang out. Like we already do, but... You know. Different."  
  
Vivian stared at her for a long moment. "Are you..." she mumbled. "Is this— are you asking me out?"  
  
"Maybe?" Elena blurted out. "I'm not saying I'm what you need, but—"  
  
"Elle," Vivian interrupted. "What you're suggesting sounds exactly like what I need."  
  
"Really?" Laughter bubbled out of Elena, and with it she felt nervousness she hadn't even realised was gathered seep out.  
  
"Really," she grinned. "If it's really what you want."  
  
Elena nodded. "I wouldn't have suggested it otherwise. So." She stepped away and put on a serious face. "Vivian King. Would you like to be my friend with cuddly benefits?"  
  
"I would very much like that."  
  
The door opened to let in a very excited Mordred.  
  
"I've got a boyfriend!" he whispered loudly when he saw them, then giggled through their congratulations. He started to say something, but then he seemed to notice Vivian and Elena's body language. He raised an accusatory finger at them. "Stay right here. I have to go now or I will pee myself with excitement, but I'll be back in a minute." With that he was off to the bathroom.  
  
"Nerd," Elena mumbled, and Vivian made a noise of agreement.  
  
“I’m kind of crap at relationships, though,” she said in a minute. “I always seem to get with the wrong people.”  
  
"Well," Elena said, "now your heart can concentrate all its efforts on me. I've never really been anyone's girlfriend or anything, but I'm gonna be wonderful at it, you'll see. Your fashion taste hasn't rubbed off enough on me yet, so I won’t be requiring any expensive gifts."  
  
"Or I can give you all the expensive gifts I want, anyway. Not that you need to change," she hurried to add, playing with a lock of Elena’s hair.  
  
"We’ll figure it out," Elena said softly. She leaned in and kissed Vivian’s forehead.  
  
"Oh my god." Mordred whispered and came closer, hand on his chest. "You two really are... How? When? You said—"  
  
"We just decided it," Vivian said.  
  
Mordred still seemed as confused as he was thrilled, so Elena shrugged. "It just made sense. It's not that serious, though." She glanced at Vivian and she nodded. "Not yet. We just wanna try it out, see if we're right for each other."  
  
Mordred stared at them for a moment, then shook his head. "You seem to have thought this through." He grinned and moved closer, then gave them both a kiss on the cheek. "I'm very happy for you." He started to back out of the room. "Better decide early on who's gonna get me if you get a divorce."  
  
"Probably Percy," Vivian supposed. The way Mordred's face lit up at the mention of Percy’s name warmed Elena's heart.  
  
"Probably," Mordred agreed and went back to the others.  
  
They held each other in silence for a while, until an accusatory yell of “ _Tenth wheel!_ ” coming from Gwaine made them laugh and let go so they could return to the living room.

xxx

  
_Like we already do, but different_ seemed to be the perfect description of their relationship.  
  
As the gaming channel picked up, Percy and Vivian spent more and more time at the flat and the recording sessions soon turned into a weird sort of double dates. Elena didn’t dare look into the comment section at first, but Vivian let her know a significant amount of people thought the two of them “seem really cute together,” which was entirely too weird. She did start dipping her toe in fandom, though; with Percy’s encouragement she picked up art again and her _Fortunes_ pieces never went unnoticed. After a video in which they’d laughed themselves silly while coming up with elaborate backstories for characters otherwise irrelevant in the game they were playing, many people had expressed genuine interest in any original stories Mordred and Elena were willing to put out there. It took them all of ten seconds of staring at each other in silence before they started jotting down ideas. Percy at once agreed to be a part of whatever project they settled on; Vivian listened to Elena ramble about characters and storylines for hours and everyone else pitched in with advice whenever she and Mordred couldn’t settle an argument. A few months and one job resignation later, Elena found herself as one of the two co-artists in a soon-to-start-posting webcomic.  
  
They still didn’t show their faces on camera, but after Percy’s sister was a guest in one of their videos—and Mordred had absolutely lost his shit at meeting and getting to discuss gender issues with his celebrity crush—the people of the internet decided to be people on the internet and soon found a picture of her that featured Percy. To divert the attention that clearly made him uncomfortable—and threatened to have people find out about his ChefHunter days—Vivian suggested that the three of them posted a selfie which in the matter of minutes became their most popular post on their social media. Other than that, the video was quite well received, so having a guest on the channel became more regular. Gwen was encouraged to start her own channel after speaking on social issues. Elyan’s musings on sexuality and disability; Merlin sharing about reconnecting with his father after growing up without him, then losing him to an accident almost immediately after; Vivian talking about less than supportive family members when it came to coming out and Percy talking about mental illness—they all brought overwhelming response from their usually quiet audience. There was a lot of negativity throughout the comments, but it was the people sharing their own stories and experiences that had Mordred crying as he read through them.

Merlin was finally looking like himself again, albeit still tired due to him finishing up university. When he finally walked into The Smuggler with his old, goofy grin on his face and announced, “Your boy’s a nurse!” Elena finally let herself believe that he’d be fine, after all. Mordred suggested that that was actually worth going out for, and after some convincing Percy finally yielded and agreed to join them for a dinner at Theo’s.  
  
“We can bounce whenever we want to,” Vivian whispered to him as they piled up at the entrance.  
  
“Maybe we won’t have to,” Percy replied, but he didn’t seem too hopeful.  
  
They walked in, Mordred ahead of the group. “For Sexton.”  
  
The manager stood at attention. “Of course, Mx Sexton,” he blurted out. “Right this way.”  
  
“What name did he say?” Percy asked Elena quietly.  
  
“Setton, I think,” Elena answered, knowing he wouldn’t believe it. Percy grunted, but Gwaine caught his attention and Elena used the moment to catch up to Mordred.  
  
“This was a bad idea,” she whispered.  
  
Mordred frowned. “What was?”  
  
“Bringing Percy here.”  
  
“Why do you say that?”  
  
Elena bit her lip and shook her head. “You should have told him.”  
  
“You told me not to,” Mordred reminded her. “Elena, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” She sighed. She didn’t wait for Mordred to speak again and chose a seat next to Vivian. “This is gonna be bad,” she murmured.  
  
“Would you just relax?” Vivian rolled her eyes. “They’re adults. It’s gonna be alright.”  
  
“It’s gonna be awkward.”  
  
“That’s not the end of the world.”  
  
Elena sighed again. She glanced up and caught Mordred glaring at her. Next to him, Percy was looking vaguely uncomfortable.  
  
“I didn’t think I’d see the day,” a voice caught her attention.  
  
Everyone looked up at the man who stood at the end of their table. Elena appreciated his chef’s jacket and her gaze skipped to Percival again. His jaw was clenched as his eyes bore into the man.  
  
“I’ve missed you,” Cenred said softly.  
  
“It’s only been a couple of months,” Mordred replied. He rolled his eyes, but there was a pleased smile on his face.  
  
“Only? You—” Cenred’s voice faltered when he noticed who was sitting with his arm on the back of Mordred’s chair. “Oh.” Elena followed the widening of his eyes, the twitch of his lips, the way he clenched his fist before he put his hands behind his back and straightened up. “Now I see who’s been keeping you away.”  
  
Percy scoffed. “Don’t flatter yourself. You know I wouldn’t do such a thing.”  
  
Cenred raised an eyebrow. “I only meant that you were keeping each other busy. Not that there was any malicious intent behind it.” He shook his head. “I should have known you’d assume the worst of me.”  
  
“That’s only ‘cause I’ve seen the worst of you.”  
  
Cenred chuckled. “You really haven’t.”  
  
“Really?” Percy asked, stone cold.  
  
Elena tried to glare at Vivian, but she had a feeling she looked more desperate than angry.  
  
“What is happening here?” Mordred asked, but Percy and Cenred ignored him, too busy staring each other down.  
  
“Percy, you don’t know…”  
  
“And I don’t wanna know.”  
  
“You have no idea what I was going through,” Cenred insisted, voice rising. Elena noticed a few heads turning their way. “I did what I had to do.”  
  
“You didn’t have to do _that,_ ” Percy said quietly. “Did you ask yourself what I felt? What I was going through?”  
  
“Of course I did,” Cenred said, miserable. Percy huffed in disbelief. “I did,” Cenred repeated. “I didn’t know what to say.”  
  
“So you said nothing at all.”  
  
“Look, what do you want me to do? Do you want me to apologise? I’m sorry for what happened. I’m sorry that you’re still hung up on it. I’m sorry that you feel like you need to clutch onto Mordred as if I’m gonna steal him from you, too.”  
  
Percy flinched and his arm slipped off of Mordred slowly.  
  
“Oh, fuck you,” Vivian said and got up, chair dragging across the floor.  
  
Cenred looked at her, unimpressed. “Excuse me?”  
  
“Fuck. You.”  
  
“I’m sorry, you are…?”  
  
Vivian gave him a sweet smile. “A client you just lost. Come on, Percy,” she said and walked over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. “You don’t have to sit through this.”  
  
Percy hesitated, but as soon as he got up, so did Elena.  
  
“Wait,” Mordred said and reached for Percy’s hand.  
  
“I’m sorry,” Percy said quietly. “I just… I have to go. You can still enjoy your night.”  
  
“Can I?” Mordred laughed, but he wasn’t amused. “We came here to celebrate Merlin. All of us,” he said, looking at Elena and Vivian. “Either you two”—he pointed at Percy and Cenred—“work it out, or we’re all going home.”  
  
Percy looked around the table to see if anyone would come to his rescue, but everyone was silent. He sighed and gave Cenred a small nod.  
  
“We can talk outside,” Cenred suggested. When he saw Percy frown he added, “Someone else can come to make sure we’re keeping it civil.”  
  
All eyes were on Elena. She sighed and waved a hand towards the entrance, then followed the men out.  
  
Once outside, Elena walked away from the couple of people gathered near the entrance and leaned on the brick wall. Percy and Cenred stood at her sides.  
  
Cenred patted his pockets and got a pack of cigarettes out once he found it. He put one between his lips and offered the pack to Elena and Percy. The latter shook his head.  
  
“You’re a chef,” Elena remarked.  
  
Cenred shrugged and lit the cigarette. “It’s not an easy job,” he murmured and took a drag, blowing the smoke out away from them.  
  
They were silent for a moment.  
  
“So…” Elena said and gestured towards the two of them. “Got anything to say, Percy?”  
  
He took a deep breath and ran a hand over his hair before he finally looked at Cenred. “I needed this job. You knew that. That’s the long and the short of it.”  
  
“Except that it’s not,” Cenred said, foot playing with a pebble on the ground. “I needed it, too.”  
  
“Really?”  
  
“Yes, really,” Cenred spat out. “My dad kicked me out, Percy.”  
  
“What?” Percy asked quietly. “Why?”  
  
“Why do you think?” Cenred huffed. “It was right before we started filming. I was gonna pull out ‘cause I didn’t wanna run against you, but in the end I couldn’t.”  
  
Percy frowned. “Why didn’t you tell me?”  
  
Cenred laughed. “In front of the cameras?”  
  
“They cut the rest of us out.”  
  
_The rest of what?_  
  
“Only because I begged Aredian to. But if they’d caught a whiff of a sob story to go with the romance they would’ve never let go of it. Of us.”  
  
“Romance?” Elena inquired. Percy hesitated, but in the end gave her a small nod.  
  
“Sorry, I thought you knew,” Cenred told her before he turned to Percy again. “I wanted to tell you. I wanted to make it right. But I knew you were pissed—and I don’t blame you.”  
  
“I wasn’t pissed, Cenred.” Percy sighed. “I was hurt.”  
  
“I know.” Cenred dropped the rest of the cigarette and stubbed it out with his foot. Elena ached to say something about it, but she didn’t want to interrupt him. “It was fucked up, alright? I’m sorry it ever happened. I’m sorry about how I acted. And I’m sorry for what I said inside, it was uncalled for. I’m just… I was surprised to see you. Percy, I really did love—”  
  
Percy raised a hand. “Don’t. I’m with Mordred now.”  
  
“I know,” Cenred said. “I have someone, too. Doesn’t make it any less true.” Percy didn’t reply to that. Cenred sighed. “Look, I know I can’t—”  
  
“Do you know The Smuggler?” Percy cut him off.  
  
Cenred tilted his head in thought. “That’s a café, right?”  
  
“Yeah.” Percy nodded. “Specifically, it’s a space for… our community. There’s a lot of kids there ‘cause they can’t or don’t want to go to gay bars, but we like it too. You should stop by sometime.” Cenred raised his eyebrows and Percy cleared his throat. “It makes it easier. Having friends who understand.”  
  
Elena watched hope make its way to Cenred’s features as Percy gave him a little smile.  
  
“Shall we?” Percy asked Elena, nodding towards the restaurant.  
  
“Yeah, just…” She turned to Cenred. “I’m Elena. I just wanted to say that—with all due respect—your dad can go fuck himself.”  
  
Cenred let out a surprised laughter as he shook her hand.  
  
“He’s not as bad anymore,” he said as he went to open the door for them. “He figured he’d better keep me in his life if he wants someone to take care of him when he gets older.”  
  
“What about your brother?” Percy asked.  
  
“That’s… a long story. I’ll tell you about it sometime?”  
  
“Sure,” Percy agreed.  
  
Cenred grinned. “Have a good night,” he said waved at Mordred as he headed for the kitchen.  
  
Elena took her seat and gave Vivian a reassuring smile. She looked at Mordred, whose gaze was following Percy as he tried to measure the mood.  
  
“Viv filled us in,” he said. Percy nodded and waited for him to continue. “You’re a chef.”  
  
“Kind of,” Percy replied.  
  
Mordred crossed his arms. “ _I’m more of a fast food kind of guy._ ”  
  
Elena met Gwen’s gaze and they laughed, remembering their first meeting with Percy.  
  
Percy smirked. “The two aren’t mutually exclusive. And you.” He pointed a finger at Mordred’s chest. “You’re Mordred Sexton. I thought the S stood for Smith or something.”  
  
Mordred shrugged. “It’s not a common name. I’m not close enough with my grandfather to be comfortable with talking about him whenever people find out about it.”  
  
“I guess we’re even, then.”  
  
Mordred smiled. “I guess,” he said and pulled Percy closer to give him a kiss.  
  
“Are you hiding any big secrets from me?” Vivian asked with a playful smile.  
  
Elena laughed. “I don’t think so. I’m not a particularly interesting person, anyway. We can skip all the drama and move straight to old married couple, like they have now.” She gestured towards Mordred and Percy who were sitting closely together again.  
  
Vivian gave her a thoughtful look. “Would you marry me?”  
  
Elena paused. She smiled and asked, “Are you asking me whether I would or whether I will?”  
  
She expected Vivian to laugh it off, but her heart skipped a beat when Vivian whispered, “Will you?”  
  
Elena was confused. Not because of the question; it took her a moment to realize why suddenly she felt so out of place, but then she figured it out. Around their table, in the restaurant, in the city, around the world—everything and everyone went on. Time didn’t stop for them as it had for her; they couldn’t see the tentative hope in Vivian’s eyes, they didn’t care that Elena’s heart was about to explode in her chest. Elena saw Vivian’s lips part—was she about to take the proposal back? _Please_ —  
  
“Yes,” Elena said quickly before Vivian could speak. “Yes,” she repeated with confidence.  
  
A smile spread on Vivian’s lips and she let out a shaky laughter. She looked down at her hands, then one of them settled on the pendant of the necklace she always wore. She reached back and unclasped it; without a word Elena leaned forward and let Vivian put it around her neck. Elena slipped one of her hairpins and clasped it to the neck of Vivian’s shirt. Her hands found Vivian’s once it was done and they stared at each other in silence, Elena too giddy to even find the words to express how she was feeling.  
  
“Lena?”  
  
Elena’s head snapped towards Percy. She blinked out tears, just now realizing they were probably the reason he looked so worried.  
  
“Are you alright?”  
  
Elena looked down at the silver bee resting on her chest. She glanced at Vivian, then at her friends and announced, voice trembling, “We just got engaged.”  
  
There was stunned silence for a moment before the table exploded with cheers and congratulations. Elena was vaguely aware that there was applause from the people around them as she laughed and everyone piled around her and Vivian to hug them. She tried to catch everyone’s words but she found herself too dizzy to even comprehend what they were saying.  
  
When Mordred got to her, he caught her face in his hands. “I’m so happy for you,” he said, eyes glistening.  
  
Elena swallowed with difficulty and pulled him closer. “We’re so lucky, you and I,” she said in his ear. Mordred squeezed her closer and when he pulled away, they burst out laughing at the way they were both weeping.  
  
“You’re both keeping me,” Mordred said with certainty, wiping her tears away.  
  
Elena glanced at Vivian, who was currently busy getting the breath squeezed out of her by Gwen. Arthur and Lance were standing close together, smiling. Elyan and Percy were trying to get the hair out of Gwaine’s face to see if he really was crying. Merlin had his arm around Mithian’s shoulders and they were speaking quietly, waiting for their turn to offer congratulations.  
  
She looked back at Mordred and smiled.  
  
“We’re keeping all of you.”


End file.
